Hogwarts Tales: The Tournament of Champions
by IronManRidingaNimbus
Summary: HARRY POTTER HAS VANISHED. In what appears to be the latest in a string of attacks by a group known as the WIZARDS UNITED LIBERATION FRONT, the boy wizard's disappearance marks the start of troubled times for the Wizarding World...
1. Prologue

**Hogwarts Tales**

 **The Tournament of Champions**

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER HAS VANISHED. In what appears to be the latest in a string of attacks by a group known as the WIZARDS UNITED LIBERATION FRONT, the boy wizard's disappearance marks the start of troubled times for the Wizarding World. With the Ministry of Magic too busy dealing with persistent attacks to go searching for him, Ginny Weasley all but abandons her career to search for her lost love, leading to an unlikely alliance with a former enemy.**

 **Meanwhile, Gabrielle Delacour, a transfer student from France, looks forward to her first year as a Hogwarts student. But things quickly take a turn for the worse, as Gabrielle and her friends are told to prepare for an incredibly dangerous tournament. As the competition begins to heat up, a masked figure appears from the sky, attacking Hogwarts Students on a regular basis. Can the new DA figure out the identity of this mysterious attacker before it's too late? Or will the students be too busy fighting amongst themselves?**

* * *

 _Prologue_

Quintius Breckenridge stood in solitude amongst the whirring and clicking sounds of the planetarium, deep within the Department of Mysteries. It had been a lonely place to call home throughout his career with the Ministry of Magic; working in total silence, with no real contact from the outside world. At one point, Quintius had been researching the planetary rings around Saturn, and after a minor mistake whilst casting a very complex spell, had gone missing for 12 years before finally resurfacing inside a mail bag in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It had been a difficult error to explain. Still, as he stood waiting for the once in a lifetime moment where the planets would converge, he let out a sad sigh, knowing that when his new life began, he would miss his small office in the Department of Mysteries, and he'd miss the planetarium, the solar system whirring around on its silver rings, the stars stretching out across the room, surrounding him in every direction. As the planets finally converged, a cold wind blew through the planetarium. A sharp crack echoed across the room, and soft footsteps padded their way towards him.

"Master," Quintius breathed, turning to bow before the man who had just apparated from the outer reaches of space.

"I have little time to waste Quintius, I trust you understand," Quintius gave a slow nod as he lifted his gaze to the man with whom he would swap places with amongst the stars. He was everything that Quintius had hoped he would be. Regal, and elegant, with an aura of ancient wisdom and power that radiated out into the stars of the planetarium. "You have successfully secured the position of Headmaster?" He asked. His voice was soft, almost like a whisper, but it held so much authority that Quintius was almost afraid to speak.

"Yes sir," he replied meekly.

"And the Ministry has permitted the use of the Goblet of Fire?" Quintius gave the same response. The man stood before him seemed to relax for a moment, gazing across the stars of the planetarium, as if in deep thought. "Good, very good," he continued, "Soon we shall see who will be deemed worthy to represent my school, in this, _Tournament of Champions_. Now Quintius, we both must depart this place. You have a whole new world to discover, and I must hurry if I am to save the Potter boy." Quintius's hands shook as he reached out to began the ritual that would allow the two wizards to swap places in the cosmos. In just a few short moments, his life here would be over. "Do not be afraid Quintius, to swap your life for mine will be a most excellent adventure." With that, the ancient wizard took Quintius's hands and began chanting an old spell, in a language that was from centuries ago. Quintius felt a _tug_ on his mind, and before he could understand what was happening, he felt a strange, cold feeling, as if the very life was being drained from him. The world turned to black, and he felt as though he was being squeezed through a small tube. When Quintius opened his eyes to see again, he gasped aloud as he came to the realisation that his body no longer belonged to him. He gazed back into his own eyes, and could not recognise himself. The wizard who had taken his place bowed, and disapparated with a crack. It was then that he came to the realisation that his new life had just begun; Quintius Breckenridge was no more.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Hello reader,  
**

 **Thanks for your interest in Hogwarts Tales: The Tournament of Champions! This story is the sequel to my previous, but much older story; After the Battle of Hogwarts, which I would like to recommend you flick through before reading this story, but if you're not too fussed, the Tournament of Champions will still be readable as a stand-alone book!  
**

 **I hope you all enjoy the story, and if you would be so kind, please leave a review telling me your thoughts on some of the chapters, or follow/favourite the story. Occasionally, I might ask a question or two in my Authors Notes, and I'd love it if you answered them for me!**

 **Thanks again,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	2. Chapter 1 Diagon Alley

**Chapter 1**

 **Diagon Alley**

* * *

Gabrielle Delacour was being crushed. In hindsight, it was a mistake to walk into _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ when Diagon Alley was so busy. She was shopping with her sister, Fleur, for her new school things, when she'd happened upon the Quidditch shop, and, unable to resist a peak at the _Firebolt Hurricane_ which was hovering in the shop window, she'd decided that she just _had_ to run inside for some broom polish, which had been conveniently located next to all of the new brooms that were on sale. Unfortunately, upon entering the shop, the clerk behind the counter had cried out; _"Oh look here! It's the young World Champion!"_ Having played for the French Under-16's Team that had won the Quidditch World Cup over the summer, Gabrielle was used to occasionally being stopped in the street and asked for a picture, or even an autograph. This however, was nothing like that, as her sister was now shielding her from a mob of Quidditch fans trying to shove anything towards her for an autograph. It had started off quite calmly; there had been a few cheers, and Gabrielle had posed for a photo with the shop owner in front of a rack of _Nimbus Two-Thousand-and-One's_. Then, a Second Year boy had asked her to sign a _Cleansweep Eleven_ that his mother had just bought him, and before long, more and more people were pouring into the shop, including a couple of reporters who flashed obnoxiously with their cameras and screamed questions at her regardless of whether or not she wanted to answer. _How does it feel to be the first Hogwarts Student ever to win a World Cup? Is it true you're going to be on the cover of Witch Weekly Gabrielle? Will you be playing Quidditch for Slytherin this year?_ Gabrielle had almost begun to reach for her wand to try and protect herself from the crowd, when a large voice boomed throughout the shop, rattling the windows, and shaking Quaffle's from the display shelves.

"Clear out, the lot o' you!" Most of the crowd dissipated rather quickly as a giant of a man stepped heavily into the shop. At first, Gabrielle had failed to recognise him in all the confusion, but as she was finally given the space to breath, she looked up to see the looming figure of Professor Hagrid, who gave her a cheery wave.

"Merci 'Agrid," Fleur sighed, stepping onto her tiptoes to give the half-giant a gentle hug. Gabrielle smiled and gave a polite wave up at the man; there was no way she could even reach up to give him a hug. Despite just recently turning fourteen, she still hadn't managed to reach five feet tall yet, and standing next to Hagrid made her feel especially small; she was barely the height of his waist.

"Well, ye can't blame them for being excited," Hagrid bellowed happily down at them, his voice rattling the shop windows, "it's not every day your young woman wins a world cup now, is it? Watch out for them _Daily Prophet_ hacks though, you don't want to give them anything." Gabrielle nodded, and after Fleur exchanged some small talk with the giant Professor, the pair of them made their way out of the store, with Gabrielle now shouldering a large bag of free merchandise the shop owner had thrust her way. The pair walked on, with Fleur muttering curses under her breath about Quidditch, whilst Gabrielle looked over her Third Year shopping list.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL** _of_ **WITCHCRAFT** _and_ **WIZARDRY**

 **UNIFORM**

Third-year Students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black) with their House Crest emblazoned

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)

5\. One protective cloak (dragon hide or similar)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

 **COURSE BOOKS**

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

· Magical Drafts and Potions _by_ Arsenius Jigger

· The Standard Book of Spells Grade 3 _by_ Miranda Goshawk

· Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts _by_ Arsenius Jigger

· One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by_ Phyllida Spore

· A History of Magic _by_ Bathilda Bagshot

· Intermediate Transfiguration _by_ Emeric Switch

· Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by_ Newt Scamander

Students electing to take Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy must also have copies of the following:

· Numerology and Grammatica _by_ General Theodore Jackson

· The Monster Book of Monsters _by_ Edwardus Lima

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT**

1 Cauldron (pewter or brass, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl, OR a cat, OR a toad.

 **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT STUDENTS MAY BRING THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS, BUT THE SCHOOL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CONFISCATE THEM AT ANY TIME.**

 **Yours sincerely,**

 **Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus**

 **Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions**

Finally managing to fend off the last of the autograph hunters, Gabrielle made her way over to _Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions,_ where Fleur took great delight in Gabrielle's embarrassment whilst she was having her new robes fitted, teasing her younger sister as Madame Malkin had to fit her into a set of First-year robes. After her school robes and cloaks had been properly fitted, Gabrielle also had a blue dress made to fit her tiny frame. The pair eventually left the dress shop with a new set of bags to carry, and another part of Gabrielle's list ticked off. Thankfully none of the crowd from the Quidditch shop had followed her around Diagon Alley, and she was able to work through her list fairly quickly, without being disturbed. She stopped in at _Scribbulus Writing Implements_ to buy new quills and ink, and bought _Elisé_ a huge bag of treats at _Eeylops Owl Emporium,_ drawing some comments from Fleur about her Eagle Owl being too 'spoiled and impolite'. Gabrielle decided not to bother getting herself a new cauldron, reasoning with Fleur that it would only end up burned and full of sludge anyway, so she may as well save money and keep the scabby cauldron that was currently gathering dust somewhere beneath her bed. She had been putting it off for as long as possible, but eventually she had to make the trip to _Flourish and Blotts_ to buy her new books.

The bookshop was busy, with a large crowd inside, fighting over a table which contained copies of one particular book; _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter._ Rita Skeeter had released her latest book a mere month and a half after Harry had disappeared, and it was selling faster than Butterbeer at a Broom Race. Gabrielle hadn't read it, but what she'd overheard from Fleur and Bill had led her to believe that the book was almost entirely fictional. She'd spent a weekend at the Burrow before the World Cup, as family and friends gathered for Harry's memorial service. Ginny had been in pieces; Gabrielle had had to share her room, and whilst she tried to give the older girl as much space as she could, Gabrielle often heard Ginny crying herself to sleep. Seeing so many people fight over copies of a book that had been written to drag Harry's name through the mud made Gabrielle angry, and she gathered her books as quickly as possible, even fighting with the aptly named _Monster Book of Monsters_ , which was determined not to be put into the bag, much to the relief of the weary shopkeeper.

"It's a disgrace!" Gabrielle spat as she left the shop, groaning under the weight of her books.

"It's Rita Skeeter," Fleur replied bitterly, "she was never going to wait long. He disappeared a little over a month ago; so she needed to jump on the story to sell more copies."

"Do you really think he is gone?" Gabrielle asked.

"I hope not," Fleur put an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders, "we could definitely do with his help right now. Bill had to break a horrific curse yesterday that the WULF cast on someone whilst they were returning from withdrawing money from their vault. They've been doing that a lot lately, stealing from people just as they leave the bank, gaining any small bit of funding they can. The Ministry have put Aurors outside every entrance now." Gabrielle thought back to her first encounter with the Wizard's United Liberation Front, during the last match at Hogwarts the term before, the group had set the Slytherin stands on fire, causing them to collapse completely. In the months since, the once small group of wizards with radical ideologies known mostly to themselves had grown in numbers, with more and more small scale attacks. So far, no-one had been killed, that was, at least, until the group had claimed they were responsible for attacking Harry, who still hadn't been found, dead or otherwise. Why the WULF had attacked Harry, or why they were doing any of the things they were doing, was a mystery to Gabrielle, but one she hoped would no longer be her problem once she reached Hogwarts.

Trying to put the WULF out of her mind, Gabrielle turned back to the end of the street, towards the bright orange doors of _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes,_ with it's enormous wizard standing over the entrance, occasionally doffing its hat to passers by, revealing a white rabbit underneath. The shop, which used to be packed from wall to wall, seemed solemnly quiet for the week before a Hogwarts term. "Go on," Fleur said, nudging Gabrielle towards the store, "I'm going to pay a visit to Bill before we head home. You'll be safe with George." Gabrielle nodded and began making her way to the shop. "I'll get you outside when I'm finished," Fleur called out before turning and heading towards Gringotts.

Gabrielle pushed open the brightly coloured doors and stepped into what seemed like a different world entirely. She had only been in George's shop once before, but it seemed like it had changed completely since her first visit a few weeks ago. Purple and orange fireworks popped over the rafters in the ceiling, and _Extendable Ears_ bounced up and down on strings, just as they had done before, but George seemed to have been trying to cash in on the buzz surrounded by the Quidditch World Cup – much like shops all across Europe – and had redecorated accordingly. Flags of all the competing nations waved, high up on all of the banisters, and Gabrielle could make out miniature models of the French and Japanese teams who had competed in the World Cup final. Squinting, Gabrielle could make out the tiny versions of her friend, Juliette DuPont, and her favourite player in the world, Elisé De Laserre. The two teams were locked in a fierce game, using a set of _Fanged Frisbee's_ as goals, and occasionally shouting insults at each other. Gabrielle looked around in wonder at the brightly coloured shop, contemplating whether she would even dare to use any of George's products at Hogwarts. Before she had time to dwell on these thoughts though, a loud _crack_ from behind her caused her to jump about a foot in the air, dropping all of her shopping in the process, and setting the _Monster Book of Monsters_ loose from her bag of textbooks.

"Hi!" George said, squeezing her shoulders, "back for another visit?" The tall wizard flicked his wand and the book of monsters fell silent. Gabrielle grabbed it and stuffed it hastily back into her bag. "So, let me give you the tour I promised last time!" George beamed, and ushered her forward, deeper into the shop. First, they passed by a large, shocking pink display filled with little bottles and tubes of cream that read things like _Crush Blush, Heartbreak Teardrops,_ and _Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher; excellent on everything from boils to blackheads._ "That's our _WonderWitch_ line, George said, noting Gabrielle's interest, "can't sell you anything from there until you're sixteen." George continued wheeling her towards a far corner of the shop adorned with Quidditch posters and flags, which had a small rack of brooms, and some protective gear.

"New fleet of our racing brooms, just came in yesterday," George explained, "I heard about you and Ginny testing out our _Broom Broom Kits_ before the holidays…" George's voice trailed off for a minute, and Gabrielle could sense that he was thinking about Harry's disappearance, and the effect it had likely had on Ginny. "Still," he threw his hands wide, returning to his usual, bubbly self, "they're all working and all above board now, not that I expect you'd be needing a kit yourself, with a broom like that." He was referring, of course, to Gabrielle's most prized possession, her Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred, the fastest racing broom in the world.

"No," she conceded jokingly, "but at least ze others will have enough speed to keep me in sight when I'm not at full speed."

"Heard you picked up a few more awards at the World Cup?" George asked conversationally as they continued through the shop, passing a rack of the newest _Fanged Frisbees_ and _Boxing Telescopes (Now with branded gloves!)._

"Golden Quaffle, and the Player of Tournament Award." Gabrielle smiled back, reminiscing about her week inside the base of Mont Blanc, where she had not only won the Youth tournament, but watched France win the World Cup on home soil. Quidditch was suddenly the furthest thing from her mind as they approached a dark curtain with a large label above that read _PYROTECHNICS ROOM: ENTER WITH CAUTION!_ George pulled back the curtain and ushered Gabrielle into the dark room that lay beyond. When the curtain closed, the pair were plunged into darkness, and Gabrielle thought that something maybe hadn't worked. She was proved wrong only seconds later as a large firework exploded off to her left, lighting up the walls of the room. Before it was fully dark again, two more rockets exploded above their heads, and then a flurry of smaller bangers that let out bursts of red and green, and orange and purple. A large Catherine wheel spun into life on Gabrielle's right, and then six or seven flying saucers zoomed overhead, criss-crossing the ceiling and fizzing out on the floor.

"Ready for the big finale?" George called out over the noise of the fireworks. Seconds later, a huge blast lit up the entire room, with the firework touching each corner of the ceiling, before fizzling out into large streamers of all different colours that strung themselves out across the floor. "and that's our smallest fireworks," George smiled as they backed out of the room, "couldn't ever let the big ones off indoors, it would be a huge disaster." Gabrielle laughed, and then began to wander aimlessly, browsing more of the Weasley products, until she came to a section of the shop that seemed different from the rest, each shelf draped in a dark blue fabric. Her eyes laid upon a small black stone, that glittered in the lights of the shop. It was surrounded by hats and cloaks, and tiny objects that looked like little air horns with legs. Curiously, Gabrielle picked up the stone and examined it, surprised by its somewhat gritty texture.

"What are zees?" She turned and called to George.

"Whoa! Careful with that one missy!" He said, rushing over and plucking the stone delicately out of Gabrielle's fingers. "That's _Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder._ Used to be a real money-spinner back when You-Know-Who and his cronies were about. You throw it hard at the ground, or crush it in your hand, and it will throw out an enormous cloud of black smoke, nothing penetrates through it; not even our biggest fireworks can be seen inside it. It's dead handy if you need to make a quick getaway." George carefully placed the stone back inside her tiny hands. "You can keep that one, just don't go setting it off in Shell Cottage, Bill will know where it came from, and it's a pain to get off any carpets or curtains." Giving George a hug, and her thanks, Gabrielle pocketed the Instant Darkness Powder, and made off around the shop picking up some of George's tamer products. By the time she arrived at the counter, she had an armful of _Nosebleed Nougat, Spell-Checking Quills,_ a pair of _Extendable Ears,_ and a small jar of _Bruise Removal Paste_ which she thought might come in handy on the off-chance she got hit by a Bludger at any point during the term.

She had just packed her purchases into her bag and turned to leave the shop, when her sister Fleur came bursting into the shop, clearly in a panic. Her platinum hair was flying out behind her as she came running towards both of them, her wand drawn, her jacket unbuttoned. "Gabrielle we need to go! The WULF are here!" Gabrielle was frozen to the spot.

"Well, if you just let me lock up, and then I'll come with…" George began, but as he looked outside the window, his face contorted in fear, and he grabbed Gabrielle's shoulders, forcing her to the ground. "Everyone down!" He cried across the shop floor. Seconds passed, and then Gabrielle heard the horrible sound of glass shattering as curses flew into the the storefront. She crawled along on her stomach, looking for her sister. She was kneeling down behind a rack of _Nose Biting Teacups,_ firing counter curses back at who ever was attacking the shop. Fleur held out her hand and cried for Gabrielle to take it. Gabrielle dived forward to reach her sister, leaving her cover behind the counter, and for a split second, leaving herself completely exposed through the shops front doors. As she risked a peak, she could see two figures outside the shop, wearing long black cloaks, with their hoods drawn over their heads, and their faces covered by golden masks that resembled skulls with pink eyes. Then, as she took her sisters hand, she suddenly felt a sharp pull on her arm, and then felt as though her body was being squeezed tightly into a tube, and spun around in the air. Moments later, she found herself being dumped onto a sandy beach in front of her sisters' house as a large _crack_ reverberated through the air. Gabrielle tried to get her bearings, but the second she tried to pull herself onto her feet, she threw up violently into the sand.

"Je suis désolé* Gabrielle," Fleur said, bending over to hold back her younger sisters' hair, "I didn't have time to warn you." Gabrielle rolled over onto her back as another sharp _crack_ cut through the breeze.

"Oh, beautiful," Bill laughed as approached the two girls, "you know, Charlie was sick the first time he apparated too."

* * *

*Je suis désolé – I am sorry.

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hello again,**

 **Thank you for reading the first proper chapter of the Tournament of Champions, I hope you enjoyed it! I know that at least a few of you will be a little disappointed not to see Harry appear, but good things come to those who wait.**

 **Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and if you would be so kind as to leave a review, I would be very appreciative. I'm going to keep this note short and sweet, and will leave by letting you know that I plan to give you 5 chapters by the end of August.**

 **Thanks again,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	3. Chapter 2 The Hogwarts Express

**2**

 **The Hogwarts Express**

* * *

A few days later, Gabrielle found herself at Kings Cross station with Fleur, walking leisurely along Platform Ten until they reached the brick wall that would take them to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters; a non-descript wall between the signs for Platforms Nine and Ten. After standing around for a few minutes to make sure they weren't seen, and after being forced to wait for a large group of Muggles to board their train to Manchester, Gabrielle and Fleur pushed her trolley through the wall and onto the platform. The Hogwarts Express stood at the end of the platform, merrily puffing small clouds of steam as it readied for its next journey, its scarlet paint gleaming in the morning sun, bathing the walls of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in a soft red glow. Gabrielle made her way across to the Slytherin carriage and began to unload her trolley, groaning under the weight of her heavy trunk, which contained her robes, cauldron, and school books and supplies. One of the porters jumped forward to help her carry it into the luggage compartment, and she returned a moment later to retrieve her two most prized possessions; her Eagle Owl, Elisé, who sat huffily in her cage with her head beneath her wing, unimpressed at not being allowed to fly free, and a long black case that contained her Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred.

She spotted Regina approaching from a few feet away, easily picked out from the crowd because of her long black hair that swished freely from side to side as she bounded along the platform. "Finally!" She said, pulling Gabrielle into a rib-cracking hug, "I thought I'd be the only Slytherin in the carriage!"

"The train doesn't leave for another half an hour," Gabrielle mumbled into Regina's hoodie, "Not everybody shows up as early for _everything_ as you do." The two girls exchanged talk about their summer holidays as they waited on the platform, mostly about the Quidditch World Cup, and about Harry's disappearance; neither of them could bring themselves to even consider the possibility that he could be dead. Finally, as the large clock on the wall of the platform drew nearer to eleven o'clock, Gabrielle gave Fleur a hug goodbye, and boarded the Hogwarts Express, sliding herself into a compartment with Regina.

Soon, they were joined by other members of the Slytherin Quidditch team, which she hoped to be a part of in the upcoming year, and Gabrielle found herself shaking hands with Quigley, Doran, and Virani, who introduced themselves before Marcus Hendricks, the Slytherin Keeper with whom Gabrielle would share most of her classes, joined them in the compartment. The students had just settled down into their seats, and the train had begun pulling out of the station, clouding over the windows of the carriage with plumes of white steam, when Regina let out a small yelp of surprise. "Julie!" She cried out to a skinny red-haired girl who was passing by their compartment. The girl turned and rushed forward into one of Regina's crushing hugs, "I didn't know you were coming back!"

"Only managed to convince me ma' last night," the girl replied in a thick Irish accent that Gabrielle struggled to understand, "Didn't think I was gonna be allowed back again, you know after what happened to Potter like." As the girl made her way into their compartment, which was now becoming somewhat cramped, some of the older Slytherin's shook hands, or gave the girl a hug, or patted her on the back. Regina grabbed Gabrielle by the shoulders and pulled her forward.

"This is Julie Kay," she said gesturing to the Irish girl, "providing she can still fly as well as she did two years ago, she's probably going to be one of our Chasers this year." Gabrielle held out a hand and had begun to introduce herself when the red-haired girl replied.

"I know about you! They wrote about you in the _Prophet_ a couple times this Summer." The girl shook Gabrielle's outstretched hand enthusiastically, seemingly attempting to crush her small fingers. Gabrielle had, in fact, read one of Rita Skeeter's articles about her performance in the Quidditch World Cup, the majority of which did not even mention Quidditch, but did include whole passages about her Grandmother being a Veela, her sister losing the TriWizard Tournament, and the trouble she'd gotten in after a broom race through the Hogwarts Grounds on her first day at the school, after transferring from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic near the end of term. From then on, Gabrielle had decided that she was going to ignore the _Daily Prophet_ entirely. Gabrielle's attention was snapped back to reality when Julie re-started the Quidditch conversation that had been following Gabrielle around for weeks. "Is it true you have a Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred?"

Gabrielle nodded, hoping that would suffice as an answer, but Marcus filled everyone in. "Nimbus actually _gave_ it to her for free, because she's so good!"

"She's Captain of the Holyhead Harpies Youth team too!" Regina added, "They're like three games away from winning the Under-16's League Cup!" Gabrielle spent the next twenty minutes answering a hundred and one questions about Quidditch, which was only halted, mercifully, by the arrival of the food trolley. By the time the poor old witch pushing the cart had finished with the students' order, her cart was nearly halfway empty, and their compartment was even more cramped as every available nook and cranny was now filled with bags of _Acid Pops, Fudge Flies, Chocolate Frogs,_ and _Pumpkin Pasties._ The group of students chatted animatedly about what they'd be doing during the school term, gossiping about the romantic scandals that would most surely ensue, and passing around theories as to whom would be their new Headmaster or Headmistress. The popular vote was for Professor Flitwick to take over the reigns from Professor McGonagall, who'd been forced to take at least one year's leave by the Ministry. Gabrielle hoped that it would indeed be Professor Flitwick sitting at the head of the High Table, as Charms was by far her best class, and Flitwick was never finished fawning over her abilities, something that didn't happen in any of her other classes, most especially potions, during which Professor Slughorn had calmly remarked that perhaps Gabrielle's talents were not best utilised within the realms of potion making. This was after her ironically named _Calming Draught_ had burst into bright red flames that sent of showers of sparks in every direction, causing her classmates to duck under the surrounding tables for cover.

As the sun started to set outside their window, and the train thundered on through central Scotland, heading towards the highlands, talk turned to the Wizards United Liberation Front, a group of witches and wizards who seemed to have taken up the mantle previously held by the Death Eaters. After the Slytherin stand had been set on fire by the WULF at the end of the last term, various small attacks had been occurring around different Wizarding villages. There had been a skirmish in Ottery St. Catchpole, and the Ministry had had to modify the memory of two Muggles in Godrics Hollow after they'd been dangled from the spire of the church. Gabrielle recounted her story of the WULF showing up in Diagon Alley to attack shoppers preparing for the upcoming term to a chorus of gasps and groans, although she left out the part of the story that ended with her vomiting onto the beach after experiencing side-along apparation for the first time.

"But what is it that they're _after_?" Regina asked as she sucked on the end of an _Acid Pop._

"Well, it's all in the _Prophet,_ " Julie said, drawing a round of groans from the other students at the thought of anyone ever reading another page. Nevertheless, Julie reached into her bag to pull out a slightly creased copy of the _Daily Prophet_ , but as she tried to zip the bag closed, it slipped from her hands, sending its contents skittering across the floor of the compartment. Everyone got to work gathering up the scattered make-up, coins, and other miscellaneous stuff, but a book on the floor had caught Gabrielle's eye; _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter._ Gabrielle picked up the book and started hard at the cover, gripping the spine of the book so tightly it threatened to break apart, gazing with a stony expression at the cover, which contained a photo of Harry when he was younger, standing in an enormous building that Gabrielle didn't recognise, with Professor Dumbledore by his side, behind them, a cracked fountain spraying water in all directions. Clearly the photo had been taken in the aftermath of some battle; not the kind of thing Harry would have wanted to be circulating the Deciding, at least for the moment, that causing a scene with her possible team-mates before they even arrived at Hogwarts would not be one of her better ideas, Gabrielle handed over the book without a word, and the team began to read over Julie's shoulder.

 **Wizards United Liberation Front Demand Statute of Secrecy to be Overturned, Call for an End to Blood Purity**

 **In a seemingly double pronged attack on some of the Wizarding Worlds core values, radical group, the Wizards United Liberation Front, released a document to the Ministry of Magic calling for the Statute of Secrecy to be overturned, branding the agreement as an outdated idea from an older time, when Witches and Wizards feared for their lives as Muggles hunted them down. The document states that because of the high level of integration that exists today between the Magical and Muggle Communities, revealing ourselves to the Muggles once more would be a much less dangerous endeavour, and even if it were, we have magic on our side.**

 **The group also calls for an end to Blood Purity, stating that certain Wizards and Witches who insist on maintaining their exclusively magical bloodlines are doing more harm than good, and that in order for the Wizard World's continued survival, the era of Pure-Bloods must end. Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, himself from an old Pure-Blood family, rubbished the WULF's claims, releasing this statement to the press:**

 ** _"Recently our community has been under siege from a group calling themselves the Wizards United Liberation Front. This group claims to want peace, but incites war, apparently desires equality, but does more to drive us apart than bring us together. Do not buy in to the ideologies of these thugs. A year ago, Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, very nearly brought about the destruction of our world by attempting to reveal us to the Muggle world, whilst at the same time trying to rid our community of all Muggle-Born witches and Wizards. Whilst this Wizards United Liberation Front tries to disguise its attacks under the pretence of achieving peace, it is plain to all but themselves that they are simply trying to do what Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters failed to do, and as with Lord Voldemort, the Ministry is determined that the WULF will also fail in their endeavours._**

"That's just ridiculous!" Regina snapped, "and they think that this is a valid reason for destroying the Slytherin stand at the Quidditch Pitch, terrifying Muggles, and attacking Harry Potter." The compartment fell silent at the mention of Harry's name, and conversation stalled until the boys left to change into their school robes, suddenly filling the compartment with ample space. Gabrielle rummaged around in her bag until she managed to locate her new set of Slytherin robes, with their emerald green collar glinting in the dimming light of the carriage. With her robes now replacing her Muggle clothes, Gabrielle truly felt like a Hogwarts student now, finally shedding the Beauxbatons image that she'd presented when she had first arrived.

Before long, the Hogwarts express trundled into Hogsmeade Station, and weary students trudged out of their compartment and began dragging their luggage off the train and onto the damp platform. Rain had started to spit gently, and the air was far chillier up north, as evidenced by the many students hurriedly pulling on their heavier cloaks to fend off the cold air. After trudging down a narrow path behind the station, Gabrielle, Regina, and Julie were met by a horseless carriage, which pulled itself up behind a row of identical cars and flung open its doors to welcome them inside. Gabrielle flung herself onto a bench beside Regina, and soon they were being pulled up towards the main gates of the castle, a large black iron latticework, flanked on either side by a winged boar which rested on a plinth bearing the Hogwarts crest. Gabrielle hopped out, and after leaving her cases down by the gates to be carried up to the castle, she, Regina, and Julie began the long trek up the winding path that led to Hogwarts.

The castle loomed ominously out of the dark as the trio finally rounded the corner and began to climb the large hill towards the Entrance Hall, its large windows giving off an eerie glow in the dark, its stone walls covered in slick spots of rain, and the high towers casting enormous shadows over the ground, filling Gabrielle with a mixed sense of trepidation and awe. As they crossed into the courtyard, Gabrielle was caught off guard by the sight of a statue that hadn't been there during either of her previous visits, but the figure carved out of bronze was unmistakable. The statue depicted a small boy, around ten or eleven years old, with wild hair, broken glasses, and clothes that appeared several sizes too large. He carried with him a large trunk, a cage with an owl, and had a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his head. The base of the statue read;

 ** _'Hogwarts is my home' – Harry James Potter 1980 – 1999_**

Gabrielle respected the statue, and she fully understood the reasoning behind placing it in the grounds, and, she thought solemnly, if anyone deserved to have a statue at Hogwarts, it was Harry. But seeing the statue placed there made her feel a pang of anger and sadness in the pit of her stomach. It was as if the statue had sealed Harry's fate before it had ever been truly discovered, as if, by placing an end date on the base, the Wizarding community had accepted the finality of Harry's disappearance, and presumed death at the hands of the WULF, as though there was no possibility of any other outcome. In a somewhat less jovial mood, Gabrielle walked passed the statue, unable to give it a second glance, and pushed forward into the Entrance Hall.

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hello again!**

 **I hope you've enjoyed chapter 2 of the Tournament of Champions, and now that we're at Hogwarts, the fun can really begin!**

 **I also feel like I should give you a little summary on one of my characters who you may not be familiar with; Regina Corsica is a 7th Year Slytherin, Prefect, Head Girl, and Captain of Slytherin's Quidditch team. She will also help run the Defence Association, which is essentially Dumbledore's Army, re-packaged into an official club at Hogwarts.**

 **Now that you guys know who she is, I have a couple of questions for you guys to answer!**

 **1\. Have you enjoyed the opening chapters?**

 **2\. What can I do to improve in the next chapters?**

 **3\. What scene is depicted on the cover of _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter_ by _Rita Skeeter?_ (I have a special reward for the first person who gets this right!) **

**Thanks again to everyone who has been reading, and I'll see you with the next!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	4. Chapter 3 The First Feast

**3**

 **The First Feast**

* * *

Regina Corsica stepped out of the courtyard and hurried inside the Entrance Hall of the castle as rain began to patter more and more heavily on the ground. _Thank Merlin I'm not on the boats anymore,_ she thought to herself, yet another reminder that this was to be her final year at the school that she had grown to call home. She padded inside quickly, heading for the Great Hall to grab a seat at the head of the Slytherin table. Slowly, students began to file in behind her and take their seats for the first feast of the year. Looking around the Great Hall, Regina noticed there were many changes from the previous year. The Great Hall had been scrubbed spotless, every suit of armour, every piece of glass, every rafter, was polished and dusted to a sparkling shine, and where the flags of each school house would normally drape from the ceiling, there were instead, the flags of various different countries, dominating the room. The flag of Great Britain hung proudly over the High Table, blocking out almost two-thirds of the windows at the back of the hall. On the left, Regina could make out the Star-Spangled Banner of the USA, and opposite hung the flag of Japan. Further down the hall, Regina could make out the flags of Brazil and Greece, but was left puzzled by some of the more obscure flags that hung down from the rafters, and decided, in her spare time, that she would work on identifying each one.

Turning to the High Table, Regina spotted the tiny figure of Professor Flitwick, to her dismay, sitting in his usual chair at the side of the Headmasters golden throne, meaning that he would remain as the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. Regina couldn't see Malfoy in her seat, and thought for a horrifying moment that Narcissa Malfoy, former Death Eater, had been made headmaster. However, that fear was quelled a short moment later when the witch pranced in, leading a large group of First Years to the front of the hall, carrying the Sorting Hat in her hand. Malfoy explained to the students how the Sorting Hat would work, and then sat the hat onto a small stool. The audience of students waited with baited breath for the Sorting Hat to open its mouth and sing its yearly song. After a moment that Regina was sure the hat would've considered a dramatic pause, it began to sing.

 _'Welcome students new, and old,_

 _timid and shy, or brave and bold!_

 _It's another year at Hogwarts,_

 _A chance to sing my song!_

 _For I'm the Sorting Hat you see,_

 _And I'll find where you belong!_

 _Perhaps you'll be in Gryffindor,_

 _With those brave-hearted fellows,_

 _Or in true and loyal Hufflepuff,_

 _With all those dressed in yellow!_

 _Maybe you're a Ravenclaw,_

 _With great wit and intuition,_

 _Or to shrewd and cunning Slytherin,_

 _Go those with great ambition!_

 _So put me on your head_

 _So that I can read your mind,_

 _And once I look inside it,_

 _Your House I'll surely find!_

The Students had begun to clap, thinking this to be the end of the Sorting Hats song for another year, but the hat continued, singing in a lower, darker voice, his song now slowing down into more of a ballad.

 _But students be wary,_

 _Don't lose your wits,_

 _This year we have some competition,_

 _From far across the sea…_

 _The flags around this hall,_

 _Come from seven other schools…_

 _If we don't join together now,_

 _They make us look like fools!_

 _So Houses band together,_

 _Put your squabbles to one side…_

 _I wonder if you students,_

 _Would help me show some Hogwarts pride…_

The Sorting Hats verse tailed off, and students from around the hall joined in as it sang _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty, Hogwarts!_ The Sorting Hat was awarded a standing ovation as the final verse of the school hymn concluded, leaving the student body in a mixture of confusion and excitement as the Sorting Ceremony began. Regina, in her new role as Head Girl, stood to welcome the eight new Slytherin's and helped them to find a place at their table. With the sorting finished, Regina expected the new Headmaster to show, but as the main course appeared onto their table, amazing the student body with the size of its roast chicken, and the taste of the lamb chops, the Headmaster had still not taken his place at the High Table, and by the time dessert had been licked clean off of everyone's plates, Regina had begun to think that the position had been left vacant.

However, as the stars began to appear through the clouds of the enchanted ceiling, and the floating candles had all but burned through their wax, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts _shimmered_ into view. That was the first thing that struck Regina as odd; he didn't walk through any of the doors to the Great Hall, nor did he apparate into the hall, he simply appeared out of thin air in front of the High Table, as though he had been standing there the whole time, and had decided to remove a _Disillusionment Charm_ for a prank. But the man in front of them did not seem like the kind of man who enjoyed pulling pranks. As he appeared, all the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room, voices died down without anyone ever instructing them to be silent, the candles and torched dimmed their lights, and a strange sense of power flowed into the room, hanging over all of their heads. The man wore a regal set of dark green robes, and had shoulder-length hair that had a colour like grey ash. His chin sported a small, grey beard which tapered to sharp point just below his chest, and his eyes were incredibly black, almost devoid of any colour at all, but for a hint of white around the edges. He was a very tall man, probably well over six feet, with a thin and wiry frame, but his voice was that of a much larger man, and when he spoke, it boomed off of the walls like the sound of cannon fire.

"Good evening," he began, taking a small step forward, causing many of the students to recoil in their chairs, "I am Professor Quintius Breckenridge, and I will be your new Headmaster. I realise that Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall have left some incredibly large shoes to fill, but I promise I shall do my very best to take up their mantle." _Not likely,_ Regina thought, with her ears still ringing from his greeting. "I realise that many of you will have questions about me, and in time I shall do my best to answer them. It has been many years since I have walked these halls, many years since have I have been outside in fact; having worked in the Department of Mysteries. How nice it is, for me to return and see so many smiling faces, eager for learning, and eager for adventure." His tone did not match his words in any way, and Regina had already formed a disliking towards their new Headmaster.

" _Department of Mysteries,"_ Julie hissed into Regina's ear, "He must've been an _Unspeakable."_

"Yeah, I don't reckon he'll answer many of our questions at all," Regina whispered back. She felt a tingling down the back of her neck that made her feel strangely sure that the Headmaster had heard them, though it couldn't have been possible.

"And what a year we have in store for you all!" The Headmasters voice echoed around the Great Hall once more, rattling the windows, and causing some of the candles to snuff out. "You see," he spoke softly, "this is no ordinary year at Hogwarts, as I'm told our most famous Sorting Hat foreshadowed in its song at the start of the lovely feast that I'm sorry to have missed. But before we get to that, I have a few quick announcements to make. Our caretaker, Argus Filch has asked me to remind you that the aptly named _Forbidden Forest_ is strictly forbidden to all students, and that all _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_ products remain banned from the classroom. As some of you may have noticed, there has been a slight shake-up of our regular staff too. Professor Horace Slughorn, our esteemed potions master, has made the decision to step away from certain duties, and will no longer be acting as the Head of Slytherin house. This noble mantle will now be taken up by Professor Narcissa Malfoy, our teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and I hope you will all join me in wishing the Professor the best of luck."

No sooner than Professor Breckenridge had finished his sentence, a chorus of _boos_ rang out around the hall. The Headmaster made to silence the students, with the loudest noise of all coming from the Slytherin table itself, but Malfoy held up a hand to stop him, and he let the students air their frustration. _Good,_ Regina thought, _at least she knows where we stand._ "Well that was some reception," the Headmaster continued, apparently unfazed, "as well as Professor Malfoy's appointment, I am pleased to announce that Professor Rubeus Hagrid will take over Professor McGonagall's duties as head of Gryffindor house." This time the Gryffindor table applauded heartily and Hagrid gave them a shy wave with one hand whilst wiping away giant tears of joy with the other. "I myself will also fill another of Professor McGonagall's duties, as your new Professor of Transfiguration."

Many of the students looked taken aback, and there was a small sense of fear around the Great Hall at the thought of actually having classes with this man. "Now, onto the big announcement of the night," the Headmaster composed himself, and swept an arm around the room, dimming the torches slightly, as if to add to the drama. "As some of you may have noticed, there are eight flags hung around the room. Seven of these flags were sent to us by seven schools from across the Wizarding World. These seven schools, along with ourselves, will compete against one another in a most fascinating event; the _Tournament of Champions!"_

If the Headmaster had expected a cheerful reaction from the crowd, he would have been sourly disappointed by the faces filled with blank confusion that stared back at him. Regina, of course, had found out about Hogwarts' participation in the tournament by spying on Professor McGonagall and Harry Potter as they discussed how they would prepare the students for such a dangerous event. But she had yet to tell anyone else, and as the rest of the students found out more about the _Tournament of Champions,_ their reactions turned from confusion to anger.

"The tournament works as follows," the Headmaster continued, "each participating school will select three champions, who will travel to each school in turn to compete in a series of exciting, but _dangerous_ events. The champions may also select one alternate per event to compete in their place, providing that their alternate has studied on the same continent within ten years of the tournament. The _Tournament of Champions_ is open to all those aged twelve and over." Already drawing comparisons with the _TriWizard Tournament,_ the crowd of students gathered in the Great Hall started to voice their disapproval loudly. _That's insane!_ One boy cried out, _why in the name of Merlin would we go through an even bigger tournament?_ The students cheered their approval of this remark, and protests were soon heard all around the room.

"Silence." The Headmaster spoke. He didn't even raise his voice, he spoke it almost like a whisper, but the moment he did, every mouth in the Great Hall was suddenly wired shut, simply unable to make a sound. Regina felt as though something like a fuzzy cotton ball had been lodged in her throat, cutting off all noise. The Headmaster, now free of any interruption, continued, "I understand, after the events of the last _TriWizard Tournament,_ that many of you cannot bear the thought of the school sending three more students to a similar event, but unfortunately, the decision of the International Confederation of Wizards is final. Hogwarts must compete. Now that this is clear to all of you, I shall resume informing you of the tournament."

Finally, Regina was able to open her mouth, and the fuzzy feeling in the back of her throat had vanished. Despite the charm being lifted, no student dared to raise their voice against the Headmaster again, having just been given a taste of the kind of power that he possessed. "Hogwarts must put together the strongest possible team in order to succeed in this tournament, and as such, we must select the three best champions to support our cause. These champions must be magically powerful, quick thinking, athletic, and courageous. Whilst Hogwarts has many students that fit this criteria, I have made the decision to leave the selection of our champions to an independent judge." Professor Breckenridge held out his right arm, as if he was going to grasp something from thin air. Just like the way he had entered the hall moments earlier, an all too familiar cup shimmered into existence in his hand. It was made of a heavy hewn wood, that was slightly blackened, and was set with jewels in the base. From the inside of the cup, Regina could make out a small blue flame, dancing in the dim lights of the Great Hall.

"The Goblet of Fire!" the Headmaster announced, "Today, I myself placed the names of each student over the age of twelve into the Goblet of Fire, and tomorrow evening, the goblet will decide which three students it deems most-worthy to represent our school in this _Tournament of Champions!"_ To his credit, Professor Breckenridge did muster a few cheers from some of the students, but mostly the students whispered anxiously amongst each other, whether in excitement to watch the tournament, or fear of being chosen, Regina couldn't tell.

" _Merlin's beard,"_ Julie whispered to Regina as she led the First Year Slytherin's down to the Common Room, "Maybe me Ma' was right after all, about me not coming back like."

"Well, if you think like that, at least you won't be likely to get chosen," Regina laughed coolly. She had begun to think along the same lines herself though, and as she was reassuring the First Years that Hogwarts was a brilliant place, and they'd be having great fun all year, she began to wonder just how much of what she was telling them was actually true. Finally, as they came to the seemingly non-descript, blank piece of wall that led to the Slytherin dungeons, she turned to the group of First Years straggling behind her. "This," she said, smacking a hand onto the wall, "is the entrance to our Common Room. There are two golden rules that all four houses have at Hogwarts, number one is don't tell anyone from the other houses where your Common Room is, and number two; do not, _ever,_ tell anyone but another Slytherin the password. If you get lost or forget the password, just look for someone in a green robe like ours, okay?" Regina's tiny gaggle of First Years nodded their heads up and down in unison, clearly amazed at everything they had seen tonight. Regina could remember back to when she must've looked exactly the same way, eager, but terrified at the same time.

" _Acid Pops,"_ Regina spoke clearly. The wall before her slid away to reveal the Slytherin Common Room. After all the strange proceedings during the feast, Regina welcomed the familiarity of the Common Room, with its large windows looking out into the depths of the Black Lake, the crackling sounds of the fire in the background, the drone of students chattering about their summer, and the sense of excitement about the upcoming term that seemed too buzz in the air. Unfamiliar to Regina was the group of nervous First Years following her around, but as Head Girl, it was her duty to make sure they were settled in. After making sure that the new students had successfully found their beds for the night, Regina could at last flop into an armchair beside the fire.

"Here," Julie said, flopping down in the chair opposite and dropping a book into Regina's lap, "finished it ten minutes ago, thought you might want a look." Regina picked up the book; _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter_ by _Rita Skeeter._

"Why would I want to read any of her drivel?" Regina said dumping the book. Julie shrugged, clearly not perturbed by Regina's scathing looks. Still, as the students began to fizzle out of the Common Room that night, Regina found herself alone, with the photo of Harry staring up at her from the floor, inviting her to read, to find out al of his supposedly dark and dangerous secrets. Sighing, Regina picked up the book and opened it to the first chapter; _The Attack on Vinehill Cottage._

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter 3, and just a quick note on the Sorting Hat's song, I would have published it with the verses properly spaced, but FF keeps deleting my formatting. Hopefully it's still easy enough to read, but it might be a little off-rhythm.**

 **Congratulations to Michael Velloza and the guest reviewer who got my question in my last notes correct! The scene on the cover of _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter_ by _Rita Skeeter_ is indeed the aftermath of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Michael Velloza has been rewarded, and if the guest who also reviewed would get in touch by creating an account, I will reward you too! **

**I've also had a few conversations with people who have been a little worried that Harry and Ginny don't seem to have a part to play in the story, and I understand their concerns completely, but let me be the first to ensure you that Harry and Ginny both have very important roles in the story and they will feature soon! They will be absent from the 'Hogwarts Chapters' as Harry is missing, and Ginny has graduated.**

 **Now, if any of you would be kind enough to review, I would love it if you answered a couple of questions for me!**

 **1\. What do you think of Hogwarts' new Headmaster, Professor Breckenridge?**

 **2\. Which other countries would you like to see compete in the tournament/which country are you excited to visit?**

 **3\. Who do you think will be the Hogwarts Champions?**

 **Thanks everyone for reading, see you at the next!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	5. Chapter 4 The Chamber of Secrets

**4**

 **The Chamber of Secrets**

* * *

 ** _Six Weeks Earlier…_**

Harry Potter woke suddenly in a cold sweat, with the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, and his skin covered in goose bumps. He turned to his left, and in the dark he could just make out the small shape of Ginny Weasley, curled up next to him on the bed. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully for the first night in a long time; Harry had noticed her waking up in the middle of the night, usually after thrashing around fitfully in the throes of a nightmare. He hadn't spoken to her about her dreams, not yet. She would come to him about it when she was ready. Harry leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, before scrabbling around for his glasses, and picking up his wand from underneath his pillow. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt that lay strewn across their bedroom floor, amongst a pile of clothes that had been hastily removed earlier that night. Harry inched his way forward towards the bedroom door, trying to dismiss the nerves writhing in the pit of his stomach. When he had moved into the hall, he gazed out of the window that looked out onto the street below, and almost immediately spotted the cause of his fear. _Someone was watching their house._

He was torn away from the window by the sounds of Ginny waking up from her slumber. "There's someone watching the house," he whispered to her, pointing out of the window, "over there." Ginny snapped into action, whipping on a layer of clothes and appearing at his side, wand drawn, hair tied back, ready for action. But Harry could tell straight away that what she really wanted was to avoid conflict.

"We don't have to confront them," she said quietly, a hint of pleading in her voice, "we can send a message to Kingsley, have an Auror come round and take them away."

"I'm not bothering the Aurors at this time of night for one man in a hood," Harry replied, "It's probably Ron's idea of a joke; throw on an old Death Eater costume and give us a bit of a fright." Harry was lying, knowing full well that Ron would never do anything of the sort, but trying to reassure his girlfriend all the same. He made his way down the stairs, trying to appear confident, with his wand drawn, and his stride steady. Throwing open the front door of their cottage, Harry waded out onto the lawn, and held his wand to the hooded figure across the street. "Hey you, over there, take down your hood!" He called out into the night, expecting the hooded figure to draw a wand. Instead, the figure raised its hands, palms open, and to Harry's surprise reached up to remove its hood. Harry wasn't sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn't the sight before him now. The dark hood dropped to reveal a golden mask, in the shape of a skull, covered with intricate carvings, and eyes that glowed an eerie blue. Harry only had seconds to react as a high voice rang out into the night, seemingly speaking inside everyone's minds; _take him!_

Harry had only a split second to react as more hooded figures appeared from the sky, sitting astride broomsticks, their wands drawn. He turned to the house, and threw a _knockback jinx_ at Ginny, forcing her back inside the house, and then froze her in place with _Petrificus Totalus,_ before wordlessly locking the door to their house. Ginny was safe, that was what mattered the most. Turning back to his assailants, Harry threw up a large shield charm as the wizards around him tried to pelt him with curses. Harry tried to fire back curses of his own, but it was all he could do to keep his shield charm intact. As the curses rained down, battering his weakening shield, a black fog rolled across the lawn, and swept over his shield charm, encasing him in a dome of smoky darkness, lit only by the curses that still fired into his shield charm. Harry could sense that the effectiveness of his shield was waning, and he tried to formulate a plan of action for the inevitable moment when it finally broke.

Suddenly, a sharp crack sounded to his left, and Harry barely had time to register the arrival of a large, bearded man in green robes as his shield charm finally gave way. The man lunged forward and grabbed Harry's arm as a _knockback jinx_ forced his wand from his hand and sent it spinning away into the grass. Harry felt the familiar, nauseating squeeze of side-along apparation, as he spun away from his front lawn and into the unknown. This apparation seemed to take much longer than usual, as Harry was aware that he and his unknown companion were flying through some sort of portal, or space, where time slowed down, and it made it feel as though they were apparating forever. Harry could make out a bright rainbow of colours, and in between the colours, different scenes seemed to flash by, like a ghostly mirage. Harry could make out a curtain that seemed to be made entirely of stars, an island full of grey sand, another starry curtain, and finally a large castle that loomed over the edge of a cliff top. Finally, with a loud _pop,_ Harry felt himself drop onto hard concrete, throwing his hands out to stop him from landing headfirst onto a cold stone floor. Instinctively, he turned to the man behind him, and threw his hands up protectively. No curse or jinx came his way, and Harry took a moment to look at his rescuer properly.

The man was very tall, but thin and wiry. He had a grey beard that tapered to a sharp point just below his chest, and his eyes seemed to be devoid of any colour. Harry made to thank the man, but a sudden fear overtook him. "Ginny!" he shouted, his voice shaking with fear, "I left Ginny behind, she's still in the house! We need to go back! We need…"

"Miss Weasley is fine, boy."

"You don't know that!" Harry shouted, "We just left her there! Take me back now!"

"Be quiet," the man said softly. Harry's jaws clamped shut, and he found that he could no longer make a sound. "Miss Weasley is safe. As I'm sure you noticed on the way here, we did not make a normal disapparation. We have, in fact, jumped forward through time." The words hit Harry like a ton of bricks, seeming like such an impossible load of nonsense, but at the same time, seeming perfectly true.

"You can't apparate through time." Harry said sourly, his voice finally returning to him.

" _Very few_ wizards can apparate into the _Time Between the Times,"_ the man replied in a booming voice that seemed a complete mismatch with his wiry frame, "but I am one of the few who can. My name is Quintius Breckenridge, and I have brought you forward in time by six weeks because the Wizarding world must think that you are dead."

"They need to believe that I'm dead?"

"Yes. You are, I've come to believe, aware of the great prophecy that was told at the end of your final year?" Harry nodded, thinking back to when Professor Trelawney had walked out into the courtyard and in a haunting, possessed voice proclaimed to the entire school that a wicked sorceress would return and wreak havoc, or something along those lines. Harry dragged up the lines of the prophecy, buried deep within his memory.

 _The Tapestry of Chaos is almost woven,_

 _And the Eve of Her Rising approaches._

 _Legends of old shall awaken,_

 _And ancient furies shall be unleashed from the Vault._

 _The Twelve Knights re-born,_

 _Shall sit again, around the table._

 _But the wrong one will lead them to battle,_

 _And one shall fall victim to the Sorceress._

 _Misery will crush all hope,_

 _Only the happiest thoughts can pave the way._

 _But good fortune cannot win this battle,_

 _When grief becomes her power._

 _In the moment of reckoning,_

 _Only the Worthiest of Twelve_

 _Can wield the Ancient Blade,_

 _And do battle with the Warrior in Black._

 _Only the Eleven can turn back the Loom,_

 _And bring peace to the Kingdom._

 _For steel must pierce stone,_

 _To repair King Arthur's Throne._

"The Prophecy states that one must fall victim to the sorceress. In causing you to disappear, I have fooled her servants into thinking that they have fulfilled one part of the prophecy ahead of schedule, and as such, I have safeguarded the rest of the Twelve Knights for the time being. I also believe that, with you gone, the Wizards United Liberation Front will grow in confidence, and as such, shall make many, many mistakes, leading to their eventual capture." Quintius Breckenridge seemed incredibly sure of himself, a little _too_ sure of himself for Harry's liking.

"You seem to be incredibly prepared for a man who wasn't even there to hear the prophecy being made." Harry countered, making sure to leave a trace of venom in his tone.

"I have witnessed the Great Prophecy reach its conclusion before. As I'm sure at least one of you has already been told, the prophecy is continually repeated, it's history stretching back through the centuries. This time, I have decided to seek out the Twelve Knights myself, guide them if I can, and perhaps try to upset the prophecy entirely."

"So you think you have found the Twelve _Knights?"_ Harry asked, still finding his whole scenario entirely bizarre. He still hadn't even worked out where he was. He could see a strange, oval-shaped window off to his left, and another one further along the wall. The room he had been left in was muggy, and seemed to have been sculpted into an underground cavern; it was a strange oblong shape, with curved walls and an uneven floor.

"Miss Weasley and Miss Delacour have already been identified as two of the twelve by their trip to the Council Chamber, hidden deep within the depths of Hogwarts; only a knight may enter. Given your relationship with Miss Weasley, and your defeat of Lord Voldemort, it would be a relatively safe assumption that you are the third knight. I believe I may have identified a fourth, and I also believe that the Tournament of Champions will reveal the remaining eight." Harry was about to answer, but something caught his eye as he glanced out of the window; there was a statue of a serpent's head. Harry padded over to look out of the window. He saw a great marble walkway, with vast pools of water on either side. The walkway was flanked on both sides by several of the serpent statues, and at the very foot of the building Harry was standing in lay a long skeleton, now missing its head, but the shape of the dead Basilisk was unmistakable. Harry was not looking out of a window; _he was looking out of Salazar Slytherin's eye, he was standing, once again, in the Chamber of Secrets._

"How could you bring me back here?" Harry snapped, suddenly filled with a rage unlike any he had felt since Sirius had been murdered, "and how do you know about the Tournament?"

"Dear boy, I know everything that one could possibly know about Hogwarts," Quintius sneered gleefully, "I am the Headmaster." Harry was stunned into silence, processing the information that had just been bestowed upon him. "Now, unfortunately, you will be staying here for some time, but I shall try to make your stay more comfortable." Quintius waved a crooked arm around the small room and instantly it was transformed. The concrete beneath Harry's feet began to turn warm, and he realised he was now standing in a thick carpet. The walls of the room lost their greenish tinge, and became a blinding shade of white marble. A four poster bed sprang up from the floor, and a small fireplace appeared in the space between Slytherin's eyes.

"I don't want to stay here." Harry stated bluntly.

"I doubt that, without your wand, you have much of a choice in the matter." For the first time since arriving in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry remembered that his wand had been knocked from his hand during their escape, and he suddenly felt a desperate pang of fear and despair at just how complicated his situation had become. "'I shall return within a few days Mr. Potter, until then…" and without even finishing his sentence, the new Headmaster disappeared with a crack, leaving Harry to scream at the thin air where he had once stood. After pacing the small room for what was surely an hour, Harry flopped down onto the bed, hoping that he would wake in the morning to find it had all been a cruel nightmare, but even sleep would not come for the Boy Who Lived.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hi everyone!**

 **I hope you've enjoyed chapter 4, especially being that we finally see what has happened to Harry. Of course, not everything is revealed in this one chapter, but I hope it keeps you intrigued! I admit that I was a little disappointed to see nobody answering the questions at the end of my last chapter, but I hope that you still enjoyed reading it nonetheless.**

 **I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, but if you would like to ask me more about the story you can do so by going to my profile and clicking on the link to my new forum!**

 **Thanks,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	6. Chapter 5 Ginny's Flight

**5**

 **Ginny's Flight**

* * *

Ginny Weasley sat sleepily by her bedroom window at the Burrow. She held Harry's wand, clutched tight to her chest, and she had wrapped herself in one of his jumpers, enjoying the baggy warmth it provided. It still smelled like Harry too. Since his disappearance, she had been at a complete loss. She had tried to search for him, tried to think where he could have disappeared to, but none of her searches had provided any results. Grimmauld Place remained empty, and there was no trace of him in Godric's Hollow, or Privet Drive. Hogwarts had been thoroughly searched by Professor Flitwick, and Hermione had apparated around with Ginny to some of the places they had stayed during their hunt for Horcruxes, but they were no more help than the rest. Ginny knew that she would soon run out of ideas. Worse still was the popular theory amongst the public that the WULF hadn't attacked Harry at all, and that it had been Ginny herself that had caused his disappearance. In Rita Skeeter's book, _The Life and Lies of Harry Potter,_ the final chapter asked the question, _what really happened on the night of Harry's disappearance?_

Rita Skeeter, in her infinite wisdom, had concluded that Ginny herself had killed Harry, possibly after a row, and created an elaborate ruse to avoid being sent to Azkaban. Anyone who knew Ginny rubbished these claims straight away, but Ginny could hear the whispers that carried through the air as she walked through Diagon Alley, and about a week ago her father had returned from the Ministry and informed the family that Gawain Robards, Head of the Auror Department, had opened an investigation on her. Apparently the Auror Department thought that Rita Skeeter's theory had more credibility than Ginny's version of events, and were _re-examining the evidence_. Ginny was snapped out of her thoughts as a sharp _crack_ sounded outside the Burrow. By the time she had made it to the top of the landing, the Minister for Magic was standing inside the Weasley's living room with a grim look plastered across his face as he was being greeted by her father. Ginny slunk back into the shadows, watching quietly from the dark. "They want me to bring her in Arthur," she heard Kingsley's deep voice rumble through the house.

"How ridiculous!" her father snapped back, "she won't be going anywhere!"

"My hands are tied Arthur, there isn't much I can do. There are people calling for me to be sacked as it is, I cannot stand against the entire department of Aurors. Times are far more dangerous than you think. The WULF are getting bolder with each passing day, people are scared stiff."

"Well then why don't you do something to stop the WULF instead of making baseless accusations against my daughter!"

Ginny listened as the two friends continued arguing, their voices growing louder, and more ragged. Her mother had entered the fray now, and could be heard shrieking at Kingsley, demanding that he leave at once. As silently as she could, Ginny crept back up the stairs to her bedroom, and began setting her plan into motion. She wasn't sure why, but she'd had a gut feeling that it might come to this, to Kingsley's hand being forced, to her being dragged away to Azkaban. But she wasn't going to find Harry in Azkaban, and therefore, had no intention of going to Azkaban.

In a way, she understood why the Ministry wanted to arrest her. After all, the most famous wizard alive had suddenly gone missing in mysterious circumstances, and only Ginny had witnessed it happen. It did look suspicious, and the Ministry needed to look strong, to give people confidence that the Aurors were doing their jobs properly, and to show that Harry's disappearance wouldn't go unpunished. But Ginny couldn't sit idly by, couldn't suffer the punishment for a crime that she would never, ever commit. So, over the last week, Ginny had prepared a grab bag. It was similar to the one Hermione had carried during her hunt for Horcruxes with Harry and Ron; very small and non-descript, easy to carry over her shoulder, and containing an undetectable extension charm that would enable her to carry as much supplies as necessary. So far, she'd packed most of her school textbooks for Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, as well as her cauldron, Potions textbook, and a few essential ingredients, along with some clothes, and a tent that she'd bought in Carkitt Market. She stowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and the Marauders Map into the bag, and then slid Harry's wand securely into a pouch on the front, deciding that she would give it to him after she'd found him, and dove underneath her bed to pull out her _Cleansweep Twelve_. For a moment, she'd considered apparating to Vinehill Cottage, her would-be home with Harry, and escaping on her much faster _Firebolt Hurricane,_ but the Ministry would be able to trace her the second she disapparated, and there was a good chance the Aurors had already placed an anti-disapparation charm over the Burrow already, so flying was her best method of escape. She had just pulled a warm cloak over her shoulders, and rushed to open her large bedroom window when she heard a series of thunderous footsteps ascending the stairs

"Ginny!" her mother shrieked, "Ginny wake up!" Her mother was clearly dragging back Kingsley at the very least, as Ginny could hear a lot of scuffling, followed by more cries from her mother, "You will not take my daughter anywhere!" Ginny threw open the window and mounted her broom just as the door to her bedroom was knocked flying off its hinges. A large, bearded man with a barrel chest strode into the room, his wand drawn in front of him.

"Stop right there miss!" He said in a thick Welsh accent, "On the behalf of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I, Gawain Robards, Head of the Aurors, am arresting you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, for the suspected murder of one Harry James Potter. You do not have say anything, but anything you do say will be taken as evidence and may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Ginny sighed, letting her broom slip from her hand and out of the window, "but I don't understand why you're trying to arrest me, you should be after the WULF."

"But the WULF weren't there that night, were they miss?" the Head Auror pointed his wand towards Ginny's chest, "I don't think you meant to hurt him, not really, you seem like a nice girl. But you killed Harry, didn't you?"

"No!" Ginny screamed back at him, "I love Harry, I wouldn't hurt him, ever!"

"Ginny please," Kingsley spoke softly, "come down from the window. Come with us quietly to the Ministry and we'll be able to sort everything out there. Don't try to outrun the Aurors Ginny."

"I can't believe you!" Ginny shrieked, "You used to be a great man Kingsley, one that Harry respected, one that we all did! Now you're siding with him! With no power over your own Ministry!"

"It's not his fault girl," Robards spoke again, "he really did try to pull all the strings he could for you, but the evidence is overwhelming. Nobody, not one witness reported seeing anyone in a mask, or anyone on a broom, or a cloud of black smoke. In fact, aside from a burnt patch of grass, there's no evidence to suggest a struggle took place at all. It was almost perfect." As the Head Auror continued his monologue, Ginny reached slowly into the pocket of her cloak, feeling around for a small, black stone. She gripped it lightly, afraid of crushing it in her fingers. "I wonder," he continued, growing in confidence, letting his guard slip, "what brought you to do it? What horrible thing was awakened inside of you that caused you to murder Harry Potter?"

"I wonder something about you." Ginny whispered, clearly catching Robards off guard.

"What's that girl?" He retorted.

"Do you have a Hand of Glory?"

"A hand of glory? What in the devil is a hand of glory?"

"The only thing that will help you see through this!" Ginny shouted triumphantly, pulling the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from her pocket and smashing it at the Aurors feet. In an instant, the entire room was engulfed in a thick, black smoke. Ginny leapt from her bedroom window, and landed roughly on her _Cleansweep Twelve,_ which had been hovering a few feet below. As she pressed forward, urging the broom to reach its maximum speed as quickly as possible, she could hear Gawain Robards howl with fury. Curses fired in rapid succession from within the cloud of black smoke, which was now billowing out of the house. Ginny turned hard to avoid being hit, and glanced down to see an entire team of Aurors arriving at the Burrow, some firing curses into the air, others charging at her house. Ginny felt a pang of regret at the trouble she'd just brought to her parents' door, but she hadn't enough time to dwell on it, as the Aurors were becoming more accurate. Solemnly, Ginny flicked a switch on her broom handle that would activate her _Broom Broom Kit_ to give her even more speed, and dashed away into the night, unsure of where she was going, but nevertheless determined that she wouldn't be caught.

Back inside the Burrow, Gawain Robards was seething with rage, and had no trouble taking it out on Ginny's bedroom furniture, much to the displeasure of Mrs Weasley. "Kingsley!" He bellowed, "do you realise what she has done? What this will do to your standing as Minister?"

"I am sure," Kingsley replied coolly, "that the public will be less critical of _my_ performance as Minister for Magic, when the news reaches them that the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a team of his Aurors were thwarted by a single teenage girl."

 ** _Several Hours Later…_**

The members of the Wizards United Liberation Front bristled with nerves as their leader addressed them from a platform at the head of a grand ballroom deep within the basement of Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy sat off to the side, clearly revelling in once again holding a position of some false nobility, catering to the higher-ups, and troop leaders of the WULF. Many wondered if the rest of his family knew that he was partaking in such gatherings. Of course, his wife resided at Hogwarts, and the pair kept minimal contact, and his son, Draco, hadn't been seen since the war. The masked figure on stage spread their hands out wide, and finally spoke to the room, in a cold, high voice that sounded like it was coming from the very walls of the room, and not from the speaker.

"Friends, comrades," the masked figure began, "welcome to a very important meeting of the Wizards United Liberation Front. You have all been invited here, with thanks to our most gracious host, Mr. Malfoy, for a small demonstration of just how far our organisation has come in the short year we have been in operation." As if on cue, the doors at the back of the ballroom opened, and four members of the WULF dragged in a large, bearded man who was bound tightly in chains. "This man," the figure on stage continued, "is Gawain Robards, the Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic. Gawain, albeit under the influence of the Imperius Curse, has been working with us for some months now. Today, I sent Gawain to arrest Ginny Weasley, whom, after being convicted of Harry Potter's murder, was going to die rather tragically in Azkaban prison.

Most unfortunately, Mr. Robards here has been attempting to resist the Imperius Curse, and today failed in his task. Now that just won't do." The figure on stage raised a wand towards the Head Auror, and sent a bolt of red shooting into his chest. The large man convulsed within his chains, and screamed through a cloth gag as the Cruciatus Curse caused him unimaginable pain. The torture went on for a solid three minutes before the masked figure on stage finally released the curse, and strode over to the Auror, who now lay on the floor panting, and covered in sweat. The figure knelt beside him on the ground, its golden mask gleaming in the light of the torches that illuminated the room, the hollow, pink eyes eliminating any form of expression, increasing the fear factor tenfold. The figure waved its wand, and released the Auror from his chains.

"Now," the cold, high voice spoke in a terrifying whisper, leaning so close to Robards so that only a few people could hear clearly, "are you ready to be more compliant?"

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **I'm sorry I've taken so long to publish this chapter. I've recently started college, and it is taking up a lot of my free time, I'm hopeful that you understand. I also find Ginny to be the most difficult character to write in the series, and I've re-written this chapter about a dozen times, so any feedback you guys can provide me with is much appreciated.**

 **I have been a little disappointed that so few people have reviewed the story so far. I know it's not good form to ask for reviews, but aside from wanting feedback and suggestions, it would be nice to see that people are reading and enjoying the story. I know writing a review can be just as nerve-wracking as publishing a chapter, but even a simple message like "Nice chapter!" really makes my day. So if you are enjoying the story, please let me know! Alternatively, if you have any tips to help me improve, then by all means, drop them below as well!**

 **I only have one question for you guys this time around: Do you think Ginny will be able to outrun the Auror Department and the Wizards United Liberation Front?**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll see you at the next chapter,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	7. Chapter 6 Defence Against the Dark Arts

**6**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts**

* * *

Gabrielle Delacour was almost late for class _again_. She had overslept, and almost missed potions with Professor Slughorn this morning, and given that the potions classroom was just around the corner from the Slytherin Common Room, Slughorn had had a hard time believing her excuse that she'd gotten lost when she arrived late. Whilst she had _actually_ gotten lost on the way to Defence Against the Dark Arts, she couldn't imagine Professor Malfoy being quite as accommodating as Slughorn, and breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to run and catch the tail end of the crowd that was filtering into the classroom.

"Take your seats," Malfoy's high, clear voice cut across the room like an icy knife, " _Quickly now!_ We haven't got all day." The students rushed to their seats and began rummaging in their bags for quills and parchment and textbooks. Gabrielle pulled out her copy of _The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts,_ and opened to the first page. Her sister Fleur had charmed all of her textbooks to translate into French as she read them, and Gabrielle broke into a smile as the letters on the page rearranged themselves into neat golden swirls written in her native language. Professor Malfoy instructed them to turn to page thirteen, where they were going to revise the _fire-making spell._ After only a few lines of reading, Gabrielle realised that she had yet to learn the _fire-making_ spell, _Incendio,_ and just as she had on her first couple of weeks at Hogwarts, she would be playing catch-up to the rest of her class. In fact, Gabrielle had come to find that the only two things she excelled at compared to her classmates was flying, naturally, and Charms. Defence Against the Dark Arts wasn't her worst subject, but it had been a rather woolly class at Beauxbatons, and that meant Gabrielle was finding holes in her own knowledge and often found herself having to catch up instead of being able to keep up.

"The _Incendio_ charm is a useful piece of elemental magic, simple to perform, but effective in many different ways," Professor Malfoy began, pacing back and forth across the front of her desk, "for example…" the Professor pointed her wand at the classrooms' empty fireplace and repeated the incantation, sending a small jet of orange flame into the fireplace, lighting a stack of logs on fire. "However, it has a multitude of uses outside of keeping warm and cooking food, for instance; if the Auror's were trying to catch a dark wizard escaping on a broomstick, they might light the tail of the broom on fire to stop the criminal from flying away. _Incendio_ may also be used in duelling, to set an opponent's robes on fire, or perhaps to destroy unwanted objects, like copies of the _Daily Prophet…_ or that note you just tried to pass to Sabrina under the table, Mr. Richardson!" The Professor turned to a boy in the third row, and with a flick of her wand had summoned the offending note to her desk and lit it on fire. "Five points from Gryffindor, for not paying attention." The Gryffindors in the class groaned, and glared daggers at the offending boy.

"Now," the Professor continued, and with a wave of her wand, summoned a large candle for each student, "I want each of you to practice the _Incendio_ charm on the candles in front of you. _Do be careful,"_ Professor Malfoy said warningly, "the charm is quite tricky to get right. Practice reducing the power of _Incendio_ so that only the wick of the candle catches fire." Gabrielle began to read through the passage of her textbook that taught her the proper way to cast _Incendio,_ and was beginning to practice the wand movement when some of the students began to cry out, and Gabrielle turned to see that a girl on the back row had set her entire candle on fire, candlestick and all. Professor Malfoy walked calmly towards her desk, and snuffed out the flames with a simple flick of her wand. "Be less forceful," the Professor advised, "move your wand more delicately, and try holding it lightly between your fingers." Gabrielle tried to concentrate on the Professor's advice as she attempted the spell for the first time herself. Gabrielle gave her wand a delicate flick and pronounced the incantation as clearly as she could. Nothing happened. Gabrielle tried again, this time with a little more force in her voice. A small spark shot from her wand and sizzled on the corner of her desk, leaving a small scorch mark. The third time she tried, she succeeded in summoning a small burst of fire that melted away the side of her candle, but failed to light the wick. Looking around, Gabrielle could see that just over half the class had already managed to light the wicks of their candles, and were now gleefully observing all the others who were still to manage it. After four more attempts, Gabrielle was beginning to get frustrated, and on her final attempt she recited the incantation with so much venom that the burst of flame she produced knocked her candle flying, which sent the entire class ducking for cover as it flew overhead like a tiny comet, leaving a long trail of fire streaking out over the desks.

"A very good example of why it is important not to cast spells in anger," Professor Malfoy said coolly as she extinguished the candle in mid-air. "I think that will do for this morning, pack up your things and head for lunch." The entire class seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they hurriedly crammed their textbooks into their bags and rushed towards the Great Hall. Gabrielle hung back, deliberately taking her time packing away her things. After the rest of the class had left, Gabrielle walked over to the Professor, who sat writing at her desk.

"Professor," Gabrielle said meekly. Professor Malfoy looked up from her desk, lowering her reading glasses.

"Gabrielle, I thought I told you head for lunch?"

"I'm sorry about the candle Professor," she began, unsure of where exactly she was going.

"Well, I must say, that was the first time I've seen that happen in my short time teaching, but the classroom is the place to make mistakes. You have enough power for the spell, you just need to learn to control it, and focus it."

"I seem to be so far behind the rest of the class."

"That's because you spend too much time inside your own head," the Professor replied bluntly. "Professor Flitwick sings your praises from dusk till dawn; he's never done talking about how good you are at Charms, compares you to some of the Fifth Years even. Obviously Beauxbatons has a very good charms teacher, but for other subjects, where you are admittedly a little behind, you seem to be in such a huge rush to catch up to your classmates that you end up forcing your spells and making mistakes. Try to take it easy, and not worry so much about catching up to the rest of the class. You'll get it eventually." The Professor handed Gabrielle her candle, and instructed her to practice on her own in the Common Room.

After giving her thanks, Gabrielle walked from the classroom and joined the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Regina and Marcus were already sat in their usual spots. Gabrielle shuffled onto the end of the Quidditch teams bench, and began tucking into a Cornish Pasty, a kind of hard pastry filled with meat, vegetables, and potatoes that Gabrielle had taken a liking to during her last visit to the school. She had just begun to ask Regina about her classes when she heard the sound of almost a hundred owls screeching overhead. The mail had arrived. Gabrielle easily picked out her Eagle Owl, Elisé, who was up to her usual tricks, annoying all of the other birds by flying around and performing loops and barrel rolls. Eventually getting bored, Elisé swooped down and landed gently next to Gabrielle, dropping a small handful of letters in her lap. The first was a small letter from her manager at the Holyhead Harpies Youth Team, detailing their target scores for the last three games of the season, and the next was a letter from her parents, wishing her luck at her new school, and reminding her to write home every week. Gabrielle was just about finished reading a postcard from her friends at Beauxbatons when Julie, the Irish girl from the train, cried out across the table, causing Elisé to screech angrily and disappear into the rafters.

"Merlin's saggy left one! Have a look at this!" Students crowded around as the redhead spread a copy of the Daily Prophet over the table for everyone to see. The cover of the newspaper was dominated by a full-page photograph of Ginny Weasley, with the headline in enormous bold writing: **GINEVRA WEASLEY UNDESIRABLE NO.1**. Julie turned the page and the group read the article furiously.

* * *

 ** _The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is appealing for any information on the whereabouts of Ginevra Molly Weasley, who is wanted in connection with the suspected murder of Harry James Potter on the eve of July 27th of this year. Miss Weasley is considered by the DMLE to be highly dangerous, and should be not be approached under any circumstances. The Ministry of Magic is offering a 1,000 Galleon reward for any information that leads to the capture of Miss Weasley._**

 ** _Yesterday evening, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Gawain Robards, approached Miss Weasley in her family home to invite her to accompany him to the Ministry and co-operate with the Department's investigation into the suspected murder of Mr. Potter, but was instead viciously attacked by Miss Weasley who later fled the scene on a red Cleansweep Twelve racing broom. Whilst Mr. Robards sustained only minor injuries and is recovering at home with his family, Miss Weasley, commonly known as Ginny, continues to evade capture and remains a great threat to the safety of the wizarding community. It is now believed that Miss Weasley could be affiliated with the radical group known as the Wizard's United Liberation Front, and Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, has instructed the Auror Department to begin a mass capture of known members of the group._**

* * *

"Well that's just complete nonsense!" Gabrielle spat, only realising that she had spoken in French after the growing group looked up at her with confused expressions. After repeating herself in English, the arguments started in earnest. Regina, thankfully, seemed to share Gabrielle's opinion that there was no way that Ginny would ever do anything to hurt Harry, and argued back strongly against anyone in the crowd who had chosen to believe the Prophet. Eventually, Professor Sprout came scurrying down to break up the ruckus and ordered everyone back to their seats, leaving Gabrielle to chew angrily on the last few mouthfuls of her pasty while the students whispered to themselves about the _Prophet._

"I wonder," Marcus said, leaning to whisper in Gabrielle's ear, "did Gawain Robards mess up his _Incendio_ charm too?" Gabrielle gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs as he continued to give her a good-natured teasing about her candle flying across the classroom. It put Gabrielle in a better mood as she headed to Herbology, but she could still hear students whispering about the article. She found it hard to believe that anyone could think Ginny would try and kill Harry, but her classmates continued to whisper about it over their Puffapods in the greenhouse.

The chatter hadn't died by the end of that afternoon either, as Gabrielle made her way into the Common Room after her last class of the day with Professor Sprout, the students all seemed to be huddled around the fire with a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ spread over the coffee table. There were a lot of theories starting to fly around the castle, ranging from the _Prophet's_ version of events being exactly true, to the crazy kind of theories, such as one Gabrielle had heard in Herbology that involved someone impersonating Ginny with Polyjuice potion and doing horrible things for the WULF while keeping the real Ginny locked away. The conversation only started to turn away from Ginny when dinner began to approach. Gabrielle was sitting at a quiet table at the back of the Common Room practicing the _Incendio_ charm she'd struggled with earlier in the day when Regina plonked herself down in an adjacent armchair.

"Nervous?" she asked, twisting the ends of her long, dark hair into a tight ponytail.

"About what?" Gabrielle asked, trying to focus on the wick of her candle, and keeping a gentle grip on her wand.

"They're picking the Hogwarts Champions after dinner, everyone's talking about it over there." Regina had tried to make her voice sound flippant, but Gabrielle could hear a slight quiver in the older girls' voice.

"I'm not too interested," Gabrielle replied, "the Goblet will pick the older students, powerful witches and wizards. Maybe you should be nervous," Gabrielle teased, "I bet it picks you! You get picked for everything; Prefect, Head Girl, Team Captain, Neville's Assistant. May as well be a champion while you're at it, if you can _squeeze_ it in to your timetable."

"It's not funny, Frenchie!" Regina said sourly, flicking her wand lazily at Gabrielle's candle and lighting the wick non-verbally, "this tournament is bad news, trust me. You were here for the TriWizard Tournament, I don't need to remind you about how that went." Gabrielle nodded solemnly, thinking back to her first time at Hogwarts all those years ago, watching her sister battle a dragon, being submerged in the Black Lake, and then seeing Cedric Diggory's body lying outside the maze after the Third Task.

"Who do you think _will_ get picked?" Gabrielle asked.

"As much as I hate the idea, I hope I _do_ get picked," Regina replied, "I can't stand the thought of anyone except a Sixth or Seventh Year getting picked. I mean, could you have taken on a dragon in Second Year?" Gabrielle shook her head, beginning to realise the seriousness of tonight's dinner. Every students name from Second Year to Seventh had been put into the Goblet of Fire, realistically, Gabrielle could get picked. Still, the Goblet of Fire picked the best students from each school, or in this case the best three from Hogwarts. Her sister Fleur had been Beauxbatons' best Charms student, and was in the top bracket for everything else bar Quidditch. Gabrielle was nowhere near as talented as her sister, or as Regina, or even as most of her class, if she was being honest. Unless they were going to have eight Quidditch tournaments in a row, Gabrielle was confident that the Goblet of Fire wasn't going to pick the transfer student who was struggling to light a candle.

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **Again, I must apologise for the wait on this chapter. College is taking up big chunks of my time, but I'm going to try and write a chapter ahead in an attempt to keep the updates somewhat consistent. That being said, I hope you liked this chapter.**

 **I was really pleased with the response to my last Authors note, and if we could aim to get 2-3 reviews per chapter, I'd be delighted! I'm keen to find out what you think of Narcissa Malfoy as a Professor, and who's name you think will come out of the Goblet of Fire. So, if you would be so kind and give me any feedback, maybe you could answer a couple of these questions for me:**

 **1\. Who do you think will be selected as a Hogwarts Champion?**

 **2\. Which Schools would you like to see in the Tournament?**

 **3\. Where will Ginny go next?**

 **4\. What other classes would you like to see in the upcoming chapters?**

 **Thanks again for reading this chapter! I've also posted a poll on my profile, so if you guys wouldn't mind taking the time to vote, that would be awesome!**

 **IronMan.**


	8. Chapter 7 The Goblet of Fire

**7**

 **The Goblet of Fire**

* * *

Regina made her way to the Great Hall early that night after her conversation with Gabrielle, hurrying her way through the winding maze of corridors and finding a seat at the empty head of the Slytherin Table. A few other students were dotted around the other tables too, with anxious looks plastered on their faces. The usually warm and inviting Great Hall felt dark and gloomy, and a sense of shadowy foreboding hung around in the air like a bad smell. Nervous students filed into the hall in small groups, each of their faces set in a look of dark anticipation of the night's events; at the end of tonight's feast, three of them would see their names cast from the Goblet of Fire, forcing them to compete in the Tournament of Champions against schools from all around the world. Just as the night before, the Great Hall was adorned with the flags of all the countries competing. The more obvious flags she'd recognised straight away; the British flag that hung over the High Table, representing Hogwarts' participation, and the Star-Spangled Banner of the USA that flew proudly above Ilvermorny and Alma Aleron. Japan's flag was also present, sitting between those of Brazil, and Greece, but she couldn't yet figure out which schools would represent each country, and there were three flags she couldn't even identify, although she knew one would be from Africa, one from Oceania, and one from the mysterious Polar Region, an icy continent rarely heard from by the rest of the Wizarding World.

As the rest of the students finally trudged their way to their tables, the Headmaster clapped his hands together, and the usual feast presented itself before them, appearing out of thin air from the kitchens below, filling the tables with a plethora of wondrous dishes that no doubt had taken hours to prepare. Regina ate hurriedly, much like the rest of her housemates, firing through a small rack of lamb, and then a treacle tart in just under half an hour. When the last of the plates had mercifully been cleared away, the Headmaster rose to his feet to address the students. Casting his arms slowly around the hall, he dimmed the torches until the room was bathed in dark shadows, with the previously blazing flames now providing only tiny pins of light against the dark stone walls. The enchanted ceiling seemed to darken too, with grey clouds rolling across the starry sky like smoke from a giant cigar, blotting out the light of the nights sky. Just as he had done the night of the first feast, the Headmaster reached out his hand as if to grab something from thin air, and the Goblet of Fire shimmered into existence, the heavy hewn wood blackened around the edges from the centuries of use. The blue flame burned brightly throughout the Great Hall, illuminating the hundreds of faces gazing up at the High Table in fear, anticipation, or excitement.

"Now," the Headmasters voice boomed across the Great Hall, a stark contrast to his slight build, "the time has come to select the three champions who will represent our school in the forthcoming tournament; a competition against the best schools from around the Wizarding World. But before we select our three champions, I feel it is about time for us to start getting to know our competition." Around the Great Hall, the flags of all the different nations competing in the tournament were suddenly bathed in a golden light that filled the hall, blotting out the enchanted ceiling, and in the background, a quiet, but powerful piece of music played, seeming to fill Regina's chest with song. _Well,_ Regina thought, _at least Professor Breckenridge likes to add a touch of drama to proceedings._ The flags seemed to shimmer with the golden light, and when it eventually faded away, the flags had been replaced with giant photographs of different school buildings from across the Wizarding World. Regina could make out the shape of what looked like an ancient temple where the Greek flag had hung only moments ago, and the American flag had been replaced by a picture of a school building so vast that Regina was sure Hogwarts could have fitted inside it twice. The flag of the African school showed a small, cube-shaped building that was almost entirely white, but had lavish gold trim around each side, whilst Japan's flag had been replaced by what looked like a grand Shinto Temple, towering high above the sea atop a misty mountain. After giving the students time to marvel at each of the schools, the Headmaster spoke in a booming voice.

"First, representing our friends in the United States of America," the Headmaster bellowed, making a sweeping gesture towards the photograph of the enormous school, "the Alma Aleron University of Magical Humanities and Spellcraft in Philadelphia!" The students gave the American flag a hearty cheer, clearly keen to foster a friendly rivalry with their counterparts in Philadelphia. "From Greece, the Hecate Temple of Sorcery and Witchcraft!" The Greek school received less of a cheer, but still garnered a polite round of applause from the students and staff.

"From the Polar Region," students began murmuring excitedly as the Headmaster gestured to a photo of a large, black, angular building that was covered in a light dusting of snow. The rest of the wizarding world barely had any contact with the Polar Region, and everyone seemed at least a little excited to find out more, "The Polaris Institute of Magic and Sorcery from Svalbard, Norway!" Students continued to murmur excitedly as they were introduced to _Castelobruxo Magic Academy_ , of Brazil, and cheered rabidly for _Mahoutokoro School of Magic,_ famous for teaching half of Japan's Quidditch team, who'd came second in the World Cup against France. After a cheer for New Zealand's _Moutohora Magic Academy,_ Regina was finally able to identify the flag from the African nation as that of _Madrasat Alsihr,_ a small school in Egypt that would become the first to represent its country at the Tournament of Champions after narrowly beating the favourites, _Kenya Kiara,_ in the All-Africa Cup. Finally, the golden light from each picture faded, and the pictures reverted back to their original flags. Professor Breckenridge spoke softly to the crowd of students.

"Without any further ado, let the selections begin." The Headmaster reached out a frail and bony hand and touched the side of the Goblet of Fire, closed his eyes, and whispered a silent command to the cup. _Please let it be me,_ Regina thought, _if only to save the younger students from getting hurt._ The students around the Great Hall started to whisper excitedly amongst themselves, nudging their friends in the ribs, teasing each other about being chosen. The blue flames from the Goblet of Fire darkened to a deep cobalt, and grew higher and higher until spitting out its first piece of parchment, which fluttered towards the ground, leaving a trail of wispy smoke behind it. The Headmaster plucked it deftly out of the air and called out to the expectant crowd, "our first Champion is, Natalie Campbell!" The Ravenclaw table cheered as a tall Seventh-Year girl with dark brown hair, and a pair of square glasses that framed her blue eyes stood nervously, and made her way to the High Table to shake the Headmaster's hand. Regina recognised the girl from her Charms classes, but had never had an actual conversation with her. She felt half disappointed, and half relieved as she watched the girl make her way to the antechamber behind the High Table. Regina turned her attention back to the Goblet of Fire as the Headmaster reached out his hand once more. This time, the flame turned a deep golden colour before tossing out its second piece of parchment.

"Our second champion, is Joshua White!" This time it was the Hufflepuff table who let out an enormous cheer as a large, quite chubby boy with spiky blonde hair padded his way nervously toward the High Table from a group of Sixth-Year students. _So far so good,_ Regina thought anxiously as Joshua White plodded his way slowly down to the antechamber, _both Champions have been older students. Maybe not the greatest picks, compared to Harry and Cedric, or Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum, but no Second-Years._

"Our third and final Champion," the Headmaster said in a dark voice that echoed around the hall, "will not only have the privilege to represent our school in the tournament, but will also hold the honourable distinction of leading our team to glory, as Captain of Hogwarts!" The crowd gave a loud cheer, forgetting for a moment the danger that the Tournament of Champions would bring, no longer able to hold back the excitement of the day. The Headmaster made a motion for everyone to settle down, and once everyone had become silent, he reached out a bony and touched the side of the Goblet of Fire for a third and final time. The flame from the goblet sputtered and coughed, seemingly taking time to make its finals decision. Regina released the breath that she'd been holding, beginning to grow impatient, no longer able to take the stress of waiting. _Come on,_ she whispered under her breath. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, the flames from the Goblet of Fire turned a deep, emerald green. _Slytherin,_ Regina thought as the group of students on her table began to twitch with excitement. _Please let it be me, please, please, let it be me._ Regina could feel all the eyes of the Slytherin Table turn in her direction. Julie clapped a hand on her back, and Abdullah Virani winked at her from across the table. Time seemed to stop entirely as Professor Breckenridge plucked the third and final piece of parchment from the air. All of the sound seemed to have been sucked out of the room like a giant vacuum, and Regina could make out only the sounds of her own heart, thumping so loudly that it seemed as though it may beat right out of her chest.

For just a moment, amongst all the excitement and fear, Regina thought she would indeed be the final name on the piece of parchment clutched in Professor Breckenridge's frail and bony hand. She envisioned herself exhaling a sigh of relief and trepidation as her classmates broke into the loudest cheer of the night, imagined herself walking up to the High Table with a nervous grin plastered across her face, shaking hands with the terrifying Headmaster, strolling down to the antechamber, and introducing herself to the other champions. _And why shouldn't I have imagined it?_ Regina thought in the moments after Professor Breckenridge spoke the first letters of the name on the parchment, _I'm Head Girl, a Prefect, Captain of the Slytherin Team, Assistant Teacher of the Defence Association. I received top marks in my O.W.L's, and won the Quidditch Cup last year. I get picked for everything._ It would seem like Regina hadn't been the only one shocked by the Goblet of Fire's pick for Hogwarts' Captain; whereas the two previous champions had received a hearty round of applause from their Houses, the Slytherin table let out a collective gasp, followed by a numb silence as Professor Breckenridge read the piece of parchment aloud.

"Our third Champion; Gabrielle Delacour!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **I've been quite excited to release this chapter, as we're finally getting to meet Hogwarts' three Champions, and find out which schools will be competing in the tournament! Hopefully you guys are excited for the start of the Tournament of Champions, and even though I know everyone will be supporting Hogwarts as they try and win the tournament, I hope that you guys will like the other schools that we're going to explore. Also, if you are from the USA, Brazil, Norway, Greece, Egypt, Japan, or New Zealand, I hope to see you guys supporting your home team too!**

 **As I usually like to do, I have a couple of questions that I would love for you guys to answer if you are generous enough to leave me some feedback. So far the feedback for the story has been pretty good, and I'm starting to spot a few regulars in the review section too. Lets keep it up guys!**

 **1\. Were you shocked to see Gabrielle get picked over Regina (or some of the other, older students)?**

 **2\. Which country are you most excited to visit during the story?**

 **3\. What types of challenges would you like to see in the Tournament of Champions?**

 **4\. What other characters would you like to see appear in the story?**

 **Thanks again for reading everyone! I hope to hear from you guys soon!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	9. Chapter 8 The Weighing of the Wands

**I am so sorry, that this has taken so long...**

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 **8**

 **The Weighing of the Wands**

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Gabrielle Delacour felt numb as she began to descend the stairs to the antechamber behind the Great Hall. She was sure, as Professor Breckinridge was reading out her name from the piece of parchment, that there had been a mistake. She had waited for the moment where the Headmaster broke into a grin and revealed that it had been a funny joke, and that Regina, or Julie, or someone else, anyone else, was really the person whose name was written on the parchment. But that moment had never come, and after a long, and silent minute left trapped in her own thoughts, Gabrielle had been hoisted out of her seat by Regina and pushed towards the High Table to shake the Headmasters hand. Gabrielle stared down at the piece of smouldering parchment in her hand, still trying to shake the disbelief away, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only see her own name written in neat, sloping handwriting. Finally, Gabrielle reached the foot of the stairs, and treaded slowly through the open doors ahead of her as though on autopilot to meet the other two champions.

Gabrielle shuffled quietly through the door to see the two older students standing by the fireplace, a few feet apart in a tense silence. As Gabrielle made her way over to the fireplace to join them, the pair turned, and Natalie, the older of the two, looked at Gabrielle with a pitiful expression and bent down to give her a hug. "I'm really sorry you got picked," she said tearfully, "but we'll do our best to keep you safe." Gabrielle nodded, and leaned into the girls' hug, feeling as though she might collapse under the weight of her own thoughts. Ever since she had stood up shakily from her seat at the Slytherin table, Gabrielle had been watching flashbacks of the TriWizard tournament, haunted by her own memories of dragons, and mazes, and dead bodies, and the cold, dark waters of the Black Lake. The two girls finally sprang apart as the Headmaster descended the steps behind them and entered the room, a dark grin on his wrinkled face.

"Congratulations Champions, well done on being selected to represent the school!" he beamed at them, though Gabrielle remained unconvinced about how happy he was, as those black, soulless eyes stared back into her own, "I trust we are all introduced, and excited about the upcoming tournament, yes?" The three nodded, trying hard to move the conversation along as swiftly as possible. "Good, good!" He responded, and after a few more clichéd lines about how it was a privilege to represent Hogwarts on an international stage, and that the Goblet of Fire had selected them as the best students that the school had to offer, he let them leave to return to their common rooms. The Great Hall was empty when they emerged at the top of the stairs, and Gabrielle took as long a route back to the Slytherin common room as she possibly could, hoping that it too would be empty. When she finally returned, only one chair by the fire remained occupied.

"Quite a few people wanted to throw you a party," Regina said as Gabrielle placed herself gingerly on the edge of the sofa. _Will Regina be angry that I was picked, and not her?_ Gabrielle thought to herself, _or maybe the rest of the Quidditch team will resent me because I got picked._ "I thought you might want a little privacy instead, so I ordered everyone to their dorms." Regina continued, slipping an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders and pulling her in close. _Regina's not angry, oh thank God, she's not annoyed._ Gabrielle's thoughts quickly became more and more frantic, until, before long, she was sobbing uncontrollably into the older girls' shoulder. Thankfully, Regina never withdrew her arm, and never once questioned Gabrielle's fears, she just held her tightly, until she was finished crying, and ready to speak again.

"I'm terrified," Gabrielle whispered, her voice quivering ever so slightly, her eyes puffy and red from the tears she'd just wiped away. "I'm not ready for this. I'm not like you, or like Harry, or Fleur. I can't do magic like you can."

"I would be seriously impressed if you could, given that you've just started third year, and I'm in my seventh," Regina countered, "but I'm going to help you. We're going to practice, every night. Defensive spells, charms, jinxes, hexes, everything I know that might help you out. You won't go through this tournament on your own." Gabrielle nodded, but never opened her mouth to speak for fear of breaking into tears again. Regina rose from her seat and walked across the room to where Gabrielle had been practicing the _Incendio_ charm earlier in the evening, and plucked the candle from the desk before returning to their sofa. "Let's get started."

* * *

The next few days of school were torturous for Gabrielle. Most of her days she spent alone, trying her very best to avoid the barrage of questions thrown at her by her classmates, most of which she couldn't seem to answer. _Are you scared about the Tournament? What do you think the tasks will be? Aren't you worried about being too young to compete?_ This constant questioning, coupled with the whispers that Gabrielle could hear as she walked by, had led Gabrielle to spend as much of her day as possible on her own, taking the longest route she could to classes, avoiding the Slytherin Common Room until curfew, and generally trying to pick the most inconspicuous seat in every class, taking every precaution not to draw any attention to herself. This proved rather difficult at meal times though, and it got even worse during lunch that afternoon when Regina announced to the table that Slytherin's Quidditch try-outs would be taking place the next evening, and that anyone looking for a spot on the team should sign up in the Common Room. All eyes immediately turned expectantly to Gabrielle, and a babble of excited conversation sprang up across the hall. As she sat back down, Regina pulled Gabrielle in close to whisper in her ear.

"I bet half the school will turn up to see you fly, but I'll try and finish your try-out as quickly as possible." Gabrielle nodded, and hurriedly finished her lunch, eager to escape the busy hall and retreat to her dorm until the start of her next class with Professor Slughorn. Just as she was about to leave, the sound of a hundred owls fluttering through the rafters of the Great Hall caused to stop in her tracks. Looking up, she could easily spot Elisé, performing one of her signature barrel rolls before swooping down to the Slytherin Table with her beak full of letters. As Gabrielle tore open a letter from her parents, Elisé pecked gently at her ear, desperate for attention. Gabrielle stroked her bird as she read about her mother's fury at Hogwarts for allowing Gabrielle's name to be placed into the Goblet of Fire without any prior notice or consent, and her reassurance that her father would use all of the pull he had within the French Ministry to stop Gabrielle from having to compete. Gabrielle doubted that her father would be able do any more than Professor McGonagall, or the British Minister for Magic, but it was comforting to hear that her parents were trying to get her off the hook. She received a similar, though somewhat more formal letter from her boss at the Holyhead Harpies Youth Team, who was very much against any Harpies player taking part in a tournament that could see them injured and unable to play. The third letter however, was a mysterious little envelope with only her name written on the front in neat, cursive handwriting. Eager to find out who it was from, Gabrielle tore into the envelop and unfolded a short piece of parchment.

 ** _Miss Delacour,_**

 ** _Your presence is required for the weighing of the wands ceremony, which will take place at one o'clock this afternoon, inside the Ravenclaw changing rooms at the Quidditch Pitch. Professor Slughorn has been notified of your absence from this afternoons potions class. You are required to produce both your wand and your broomstick for inspection._**

 ** _With regards,_**

 _ **Professor Q.M. Breckenridge.** _

With a leap of excitement in her chest, Gabrielle skipped off to her dorm to collect her broomstick, finally breaking into her first genuine smile since her name had been cast from the Goblet of Fire. There were very few things Gabrielle enjoyed more than an excuse to get out of potions, and even though she knew this ceremony was related to a tournament that she didn't want to take part in, she couldn't help but feel slightly elated as she clicked open the locks on the case of her Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred and let the broom hover out of its case. After giving both her wand and her broom a quick polish, Gabrielle slung the Nimbus over her shoulder and began her trek down to the Quidditch Pitch.

The first time Gabrielle had visited Hogwarts, the Quidditch Pitch was nothing more than a giant timber frame with uncomfortable wooden seats, and large tapestries that hung from the boxes showing each house crest. But after the castle's renovation, Hogwarts had been gifted a Quidditch Stadium that even Gabrielle's favourite team, the Quiberon Quafflepunchers, would be happy to play in. The new stadium could seat thousands of people if necessary. It had a VIP box for esteemed guests, a snack bar that was stocked by Honeydukes, and even a shop where students could buy merchandise from each house. Gabrielle found the player entrance to the pitch unlocked, and quickly made her way around the giant oval until she found the door with the Ravenclaw crest hanging proudly in the centre. Gabrielle gave a polite knock, and steeled herself as Professor Breckenridge's voice boomed from the other side of the door.

" _Enter,"_ he said commandingly. Gabrielle fumbled with the door handle, nearly dropping her broomstick in the process, before finally getting a grip on herself and pushing the door open and stepping inside. The Ravenclaw locker room was very blue. Blue lockers were fastened to blue walls, which supported a blue ceiling, and the floor, although a contrasting black, bore an enormous Ravenclaw eagle, ensuring that anyone entering the room would be very sure which team it belonged to. Professor Breckenridge stood in the centre of the room, his elegant green robes a stark contrast to his surroundings. Natalie and Joshua stood nervously on the left-hand side of the room, taking an unprecedented interest in their shoes, whilst an old, wrinkly man with small tufts of white hair sat opposite them, with an attractive young woman by his side. To Gabrielle's dismay, she could recognise the final person in the room, sat on one of the benches in the back corner, trying to make a point out of being inconspicuous. But there was nothing inconspicuous about the bejewelled glasses, or the pink talons she had for nails, the bleach-blonde curls, the over-the-top make-up, or the acid green quill that hovered above a waiting notepad. Gabrielle had never actually met her in person, though she'd heard about her from Fleur, and Bill, and Viktor Krum, and she'd also heard Ginny screaming a thousand curses about her after the release of her latest book. Rita Skeeter smiled sweetly at Gabrielle as she shot her the foulest glare she could manage.

"Excellent, everyone is here, and so we may begin," Professor Breckenridge smiled, doing nothing to ease the tension in the room, "Champions, gather round. The three of you have been brought here for a pre-tournament inspection. Mr. Ollivander here," the Professor addressed the aged wizard, "is an expert wand-maker, and shall be inspecting your wands to ensure that they are fit for use. Miss Delacour, as you are the only champion to bring their own broom, you may hand it over to Miss Krennick here, who will assess its credentials."

Reluctantly, Gabrielle unshouldered her broom and handed it over to the young woman who had been seated beside Ollivander. "Don't worry, I promise I won't leave any fingerprints," the woman smiled as she reached into a small tool bag and began testing pieces of the broom with an assortment of strange instruments that Gabrielle hadn't even seen the Harpies broom engineer pull out of his toolkit. "It is a bit unnecessary to be testing a broom of this quality, but rules are rules," the woman explained, running a tape measure along the handle of the Nimbus. Seemingly satisfied with the length of her measurement, the woman took out what looked like a large, spindly claw made of thin silver wires and clamped it around the tail of Gabrielle's broom. The machine started to click and whirr, spinning around the tail, and emitting small puffs of smoke. The woman nodded as if this was exactly what she was expecting, and then let out a short sigh, eyeing Gabrielle's broom greedily. "If only you knew how badly my boss at Firebolt wants to get his hands on one of these. It's been driving him mad trying to figure out how to match the speed of the Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred." Gabrielle laughed politely, resisting the urge to snatch the broom right out of the woman's hands. Finally satisfied with whatever tests she'd been carrying out, the woman handed the Nimbus back over, and Gabrielle made her way to Mr. Ollivander, who greeted her kindly before taking her wand in his hands and rolling between his fingers and thumbs, and holding it up to his ear, as if expecting it to tell him all sorts of secrets about what kind of owner Gabrielle had been over the past five years. A strange smile appeared on the old man's face as he shot a flurry of golden sparks from the end of the wand before handing it back to its owner.

"Unicorn hair," he said thoughtfully, "Elm, eleven inches. You bought this from a proper wandmaker?"

"Yes sir," Gabrielle replied, beginning to understand the old man's smile, "from Madame Clarrie in Paris."

"I remember, a few years ago now, inspecting the wand of your older sister, Fleur. A horribly crude instrument I don't mind saying," the old man let out a dry cough, "Veela Hair does not make for a good wand core. You can be proud to wield a far more powerful wand, take good care of it." Gabrielle smiled, and thanked Mr. Ollivander, feeling quietly smug to have one-upped her older sister. Gabrielle's grandmother had always viewed her as far too rebellious and _unbecoming of a Delacour lady_ , and had made it quite clear she would not be donating another hair for Gabrielle to use in her own wand. Gabrielle rolled her wand around in her hand, thinking back to the day she had bought it in Paris. She was snapped out of her happy memories by the Headmaster, who beckoned them through the large tunnel leading out onto the pitch. Instead of the large goal posts that Gabrielle had been expecting to see, the Quidditch pitch seemed to be littered with a jumble of cargo nets, walls, and all manner of spinning, swinging, or punching obstacle. High in the air were a series of silver rings that wove around the stadium, each one a different size or height to the one preceding it.

"Laid out before you is an obstacle course that will test you in three key areas before the start of the tournament; Magical Ability, Athleticism, and Flight." The Headmaster announced to the three students. Annoyingly, Rita Skeeter was still shadowing the team, and while she hadn't spoken a word, possibly under strict instruction from the Headmaster, Gabrielle could hear the acid green quill scratching away, which meant there was sure to be an article in the Daily Prophet for Gabrielle to look forward too. "Each team competing in the tournament will pass through a similar obstacle course, and to make sure that the judging is fair, the International Confederation of Wizards have supplied us with this contraption, which will observe your attempt at the course, and calculate your scores in each category." The Headmaster gestured to a large device placed high in the stands, which stood on a golden tripod, and seemed to peer down onto the pitch through various camera lenses.

"The three of you will start from the opposite side of the pitch, and make your way through each obstacle on the ground, using whatever magic you please, before taking flight and completing one circuit of the rings which are floating around the pitch. A Quaffle will be tossed into the air after you pass through the final ring, and you must attempt to score it in one of the three hoops at the end of the pitch. Remember, you will be judged on the skills that you display, not the speed with which you complete the course. Now, make your way to the starting area. You may begin when you see green sparks shoot into the sky, and once finished, you may return to your dormitories."

Leaving her broomstick hovering in place, Gabrielle jogged around to the opposite side of the pitch until she found the starting area the Professor had described. From the far side, the course had looked like a complete jumble of obstacles, but from this side, Gabrielle could see three distinct paths cutting across the pitch, and three flags that marked where each champion would start. "Good luck!" Natalie whispered nervously as the three of them stood by their flags.

"You too," Gabrielle replied, already focusing on her path through the course. Joshua, who had been very quiet the first time Gabrielle had met him, didn't say a word. After what seemed like an eternity, a shower of green sparks shot into the air. Gabrielle fired off the line, breaking into a quick sprint and leaving the other two far behind. She hopped over a low wall, and then scrambled quickly up a cargo net and onto a raised platform. After walking across a narrow beam, Gabrielle was faced with her first magical challenge in the form of a locked door, which she was able to easily pass through after using _Alohamora._ After rolling down the net at the other side, Gabrielle came face to face with a set of swinging balls that would surely knock her flying if she were hit with one. Gabrielle began counting the seconds between each swing, working out the timing, and after finally building up her nerve, began her run through the balls, pausing in the gap between each one. By the time she had made it through, she could see Natalie ahead of her, already taking on her next obstacle. Looking back on the course, Gabrielle could see that Natalie had simply frozen the balls in mid-air and had run through unhindered.

Gabrielle charged forward once more, this time towards a gap between two walls. Gabrielle had almost started to run through the gap when suddenly a nozzle on one of the walls let out a great burst of flames. Reeling back from the heat, Gabrielle took a few deep breaths to compose herself, and began to watch for another burst of flame. Sure enough, only a second later, a nozzle further up the course let out another great burst of fire, and then another appeared near the end. Gabrielle looked over to see how Natalie was dealing with the fire, and watched as the older girl turned each flame into a solid block of ice. Gabrielle shook her head, knowing that that kind of magic was well beyond her capabilities, and that even if she could manage the spell, Natalie had cast it non-verbally, so Gabrielle couldn't even take a guess at the incantation. Deciding that she would at least try to use some of her magic, Gabrielle fired an _Immobulus_ charm at the first nozzle, but, instead of halting the spitting flames, her charm increased the speed at which the fire would shoot out. Seemingly out of options, Gabrielle began her run through, pausing before each nozzle to avoid a great burst of fire. By the time Gabrielle reached the other side she was sticky with sweat, and the back of her cloak was slightly singed after it had brushed the last burst of flame.

Looking ahead, Gabrielle could see the final obstacle on the course; an enormous brick wall, standing maybe seven and a half feet tall. Gabrielle watched as Natalie pulled herself easily to the top of the wall with a _lanyard charm_ , another piece of magic beyond Gabrielle's capabilities. Steeling herself, Gabrielle took a great run at the wall, trying to use her speed to push her up to the top, but even as she jumped, she knew that she was just too short to ever reach the top. Sure enough, a second, and then a third jump proved just as fruitless as the first. Gabrielle attempted to replicate Natalie's _lanyard charm,_ but it fizzled away into nothing before Gabrielle could begin pulling herself up. She succeeded in conjuring a rope from the end of her wand, but with nothing to attach it too, it simply fell to the ground, useless. By this time, Joshua had caught up, and despite carrying a little too much weight, he was quite a tall boy, and had a much shorter distance to jump before his hands clung tightly to the top of the wall and pulled him over the top.

A deep, seething rage began to take hold of Gabrielle, born from her frustration at being so comparatively unskilled at magic than her team-mates. Looking up at the rings in the sky, Gabrielle was stunned at how poorly the pair were flying, with Natalie struggling to control her broom, completely missing two rings, and having to double back, and Joshua flying so slowly on the second of the school brooms that Gabrielle thought it might take him several hours to complete the course. Gabrielle knew that she could beat them, and almost anyone else at school, in the air, but whilst they were struggling with their brooms, Gabrielle was stuck on the ground, being bested by a brick wall. Anger swelled in her chest, and she began to reflect on her past magical failures. She had failed all of her Second-Year potions and technomancy exams at Beauxbatons, and had struggled to keep up with her classmates from day one at Hogwarts. Gabrielle thought about her last Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and how she had embarrassed herself in front of the entire year by sending a flaming candle flying across the room. Gabrielle became more and more furious with herself, until she cried out a charm that would reflect her feelings onto the wall that stood in her way. " _Bombarda!_ _"_ she cried with all of the fury she could muster. The result was spectacular.

No sooner than the command had left the tip of her tongue, and the jolt of red light leapt from her wand, the enormous wall that stood in front of her exploded outwards, sending a cascade of rubble into the sky. Bricks and mortar rained down into the stands, breaking several chairs and even a pane of glass in the VIP box. A large crack appeared in the ground between Gabrielle's feet, and the pitch had been completely torn up when the wall had been ripped out of the ground. Still, Gabrielle's path was now clear, and she ran with renewed vigour to her waiting broomstick, which hovered two feet above the ground, ready for her to jump aboard and take to the skies. As she rocketed through the first ring, it occurred to Gabrielle that she hadn't been on her broom in over two weeks, a record by her standards. There was something freeing about being in the air, as though breaking through that wall had broken her free from some sort of prison. She rocketed past Natalie and Joshua at incredible speed, and had completed the course in less than a minute without missing a single ring. Gabrielle thundered through the final ring and lined herself up with the goalposts. Just as the Headmaster had described, a Quaffle was fired from the stands, high, high into the air. Gabrielle plucked it expertly out of the sky, and flew only a few more feet closer to the three goals before deciding on the left hoop and sending the Quaffle straight through it from a long, long way out. Gabrielle turned to look at the gold, spindly instrument with its multitude of camera lenses, and strange gears. It made no sound, no movement, no indication at all that it had even observed everything that had transpired. Unsure what to think of her performance, Gabrielle pointed her broom skyward and soared out of the stadium, flying her broom all the way to the entrance courtyard before dismounting, and making her way back to her dormitory, hoping to be out of sight before classes finished for the day. She would return to the Quidditch pitch a few days later, where try-outs for the Quidditch team would begin in earnest.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **Once again I must apologise for the delay in this chapters arrival. I've been incredibly busy at college with exams, and the story has admittedly suffered. I'm sorry if this chapter is a little rough around the edges, but I've done my best, and I've also doubled my usual length. I'm coming up to my last week of college, and I hope to do a lot of work on the story over Christmas break.**

 **I would like to extend my thanks to Last Harper, who's reviews on my latest chapters made me think more about the way champions and their parents would react to the tournament, and also to Katiek121 who's review made me realise the importance of the tournament being much better for the spectators. This in fact changed my plans for one whole leg of the tournament, so a big thanks to Katiek121!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I do hope you guys haven't lost faith in me! If you would like to leave a review, I would love it if you could answer at least one of these questions for me!**

 **1\. What do you think Gabrielle's scores (Out of 5) will be for Magical Ability, Athleticism, and Flight?**

 **2\. What other obstacles would you have put on the Quidditch Pitch?**

 **3\. Do you think Hogwarts will stand a chance against the 7 other schools?**

 **4\. Who will you be supporting in the Tournament of Champions?**

 **Thanks again for reading, I'll see you at the next!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	10. Chapter 9 The Battle of Loch Lomond

**The Battle of Loch Lomond**

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Ginny Weasley touched down wearily, sliding off the slick handle of her Cleansweep Twelve and almost falling straight to the ground, unable to stay upright without using her broom for support. Ginny had been on the run for days, and this had been her first moment of respite, it seemed, since she had left the Burrow. After escaping Robards and his Auror, Ginny had flown north for endless hours, at one point getting so cold she was sure she had reached Norway, as her broom handle began to freeze up, causing her to turn back, eventually touching down somewhere in the north of Scotland. The first night had been extremely tense. Ginny had cast every protective enchantment she could think of around a clearing in a small forest, and set up her tent, daring to only conjure a small fire for fear of being seen. Since then, Ginny had flown from coast to coast across the north of Scotland, and each time she had took to the skies she had encountered either a team of Aurors, or a group from the WULF. Ginny had taken to flying under Harry's Invisibility cloak, but it didn't quite cover her broom entirely, and with every passing minute Ginny felt the entire weight of the Ministry hovering over her head.

The WULF, she felt, were easier to deal with. Many of them were as incompetent with their wands as they were on their broomsticks. The more skilled magicians within the WULF would not be wasting time up here chasing Ginny around when their organisation had more sinister things to be doing. But these WULF initiates were becoming increasingly irritating; even if she could outfly them, it took just one idiot in a mask to get off a lucky shot and knock her off her broom. Ginny's biggest fear came from the Ministry itself, whom Ginny was sure were still somewhere overhead. As she'd learned from a copy of the Daily Prophet she'd managed to snatch from a cottage somewhere outside of Thurso, she had been made the Ministry's second ever Undesirable No.1, and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was taking things incredibly seriously. Not a day had yet passed where the Auror Department hadn't caught up with her, and they were becoming more and more difficult to escape. The Ministry had sent out their most elite witches and wizards, the very best at both spell work, and in flight. It was during a very close encounter with this elite team of Aurors that Ginny had truly begun to realise what Harry. Ron, and Hermione had really gone through during their time hunting Horcruxes. It hadn't been some fun adventure off in the woods, although Ginny had never entertained that idea, and it certainly wasn't something you could prepare for, no matter how much you packed into a bag.

Ginny's supplies were dwindling, she hadn't eaten a proper meal for three days, she had two Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder stones left, and, stupidly, Ginny hadn't thought to pack any muggle money into her bag. With her face now plastered across every copy of the _Daily Prophet,_ and presumably every poster in Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade, it would be far too dangerous to walk into a wizarding shop, and far too dangerous to return to her family. But, with no muggle money, she couldn't buy herself any food from the Muggles either. She truly was in trouble, and genuinely had her doubts about whether or not to continue. Maybe, if she turned herself in, she would be able to convince the courts of her innocence, and walk freely, continue her hunt for Harry. But deep down, Ginny knew that there was no way that she would walk free now, not least after assaulting the Head of the Auror Department and half a dozen of his Aurors in the following days. But beyond that, Ginny could sense that something was off at the Ministry; Kingsley had slowly been losing his grip on the Auror Department, and as a result, seemed to be losing control of the Ministry itself. Whatever was going on down in London, it wasn't simple.

Just as Ginny had finished casting protective enchantments around her campsite for this evening, she heard a crackling sound that caused her to jump back into the trees. Hurriedly, Ginny summoned her broom to her side, and wrapped herself in Harry's invisibility cloak, her wand drawn at the ready, her breath held tight in her chest. Not ten metres from her campsite, six Aurors landed on the ground with a _thud_ that Ginny felt shoot up through her feet and all the way up her spine. The biggest of the six motioned to his comrades, and the group spread in large circles, working silently, their movements practiced and precise, like a pack of wolves quietly stalking their prey. "There are enchantments here," the large wizard whispered, holding up a hand to halt the other Aurors, whilst producing his wand in the other. Seconds later, the Auror produced a fierce bolt of lightning that crackled and sparked against Ginny's shield charms. With a final crack, Ginny's protective enchantments fell away, and now the only thing hiding her from the Aurors was Harry's cloak. "She's here!" The big Auror cried out across the forest. Now the team were being less stealthy, and simply crashing through the undergrowth, firing off spells in seemingly random directions, and calling out to her, teasing her about how she was finally about to be caught.

"Hold it lads, hold it!" the burly Auror cried out, "this is why Carrick failed to catch her." The Aurors returned to the clearing, regrouping with their leader, giving Ginny the chance to try and creep silently backwards out of range. "We need to smoke her out, don't let her creep away. She'll be using that damned cloak for cover."

"Smoke her out sir?" one of the younger Aurors asked.

"Aye lad," the leader replied with a grin, "follow Avery, he'll show you what we mean." Once again, the Aurors spread out into the trees, treading carefully. A few moments later, Ginny realised exactly what the lead Auror had meant as the forest around her was suddenly ablaze with great balls of fire that completely encircled her would-be camp. Realising at once that she couldn't possibly stay in the forest, Ginny reached into her bag and pulled out another one of Fred and George's tricks. She hurled the Decoy Detonator as far into the trees as she could, and then began to run in the opposite direction. A moment later, the sound of a loud air-horn cut through the air, and a cloud of black smoke puffed out across the clearing. Two of the Auror's rushed towards the smoke, but their leader called them back. "No!" he bellowed, "It's just a distraction, think men, why would she throw out a cloud of black smoke? To let us know where she is? No, it's to draw away our attention. Search the other side of the forest, and keep the fires burning!"

Now Ginny really had to move, and she was crashing through the undergrowth with reckless abandon, trying as best she could to put as much distance between herself and the fire, not to mention the team of Aurors behind her. But as far as Ginny could see in any direction, the forest was engulfed in flames, even the Auror's would have to leave soon. Reluctantly, Ginny hid behind a tree and whipped off Harry's cloak; by now it had become a hindrance, and she would need to fly at her very best to escape this time. Checking the forest behind her for Auror's, Ginny mounted her Cleansweep and kicked off hard, clearing the forest canopy in seconds. Ginny heard a flurry of shouts from below as the Auror team spotted her escaping, and so she flipped the switch on her Broom Broom Kit, turning on the turbo fan beneath her brooms tail, and rocketing high, high into the air. Ginny aimed for the clouds above her head, hoping to gain some form of cover in the fluffy grey skies. She looked below to check on the Auror's in pursuit, but what she saw left her puzzled. Instead of following her, the Auror's were still circling the forest on their brooms, not bothering to pursue her at all. Ginny was sure that they hadn't missed her, so why weren't they following her? Once she broke through the clouds, the answer to her question became clear.

Almost as soon as the handle of her broom broke through the top of the clouds, a red curse whizzed over the top of her head, missing her by inches. Ginny looked on in horror as a team of around twenty Auror's descended on her from all directions, each of them riding a fleet of sleek, black, Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred's. It was clear now that the Auror's in the forest had set her a trap, one which she had fallen right into. Now here she was, facing down a team of battle-hardened Auror's who were far more skilled at magic than she was, riding brooms she couldn't even hope to outrun. Ginny wheeled to the left as a flurry of curses were fired at her chest. She needed to think of something quickly, or she wouldn't last another second against the Auror's. Deciding to at least buy herself some time, Ginny dipped back into the clouds to give herself some cover, weaving left and right to avoid being hit by the bombardment of spells that rained down from overhead, but unable to see ahead of her. After nearly colliding with one of the Auror's who had followed her into the cloud, Ginny pushed her broom into a straight nosedive. Now she was hurtling towards the ground, aiming straight for the group of Auror's in the forest. Deciding that she would indeed have to fight back, Ginny released her wand from a holster on her wrist and fired a _Deprimo_ charm at the nearest group of Auror's. Ginny watched squeamishly as the two Auror's who had been caught by the spell were forcefully slammed to the ground, leaving their broomsticks in splinters.

Pulling up hard, Ginny narrowly avoided colliding with the ground, and now was darting back towards the fire. Curses whizzed over her head, and Ginny knew that eventually one would find its mark. Seeing no other option, Ginny fired a jet of water from the tip of her wand to clear a path through the fire, and began flying through the smouldering trees, her eyes watering from the smoke that filled the forest. Many of the Aurors followed her into the burning forest, but with so many trees in their way, they couldn't bring their brooms even close to top speed. Now, it seemed as though the chase would become a game of who blinked first. Ginny darted left and right, narrowly avoiding tree trunks, and low hanging branches that would at best injure her, and at worst kill her. The Aurors were still hot on her tail, and despite the constant threat of the trees, were swiftly gaining ground. Ginny dared a glance backwards to see, to her horror, a rugged, battle-hardened Auror reaching out to try and grab the tail of her broom. Ginny turned at the very last second, and swerved to avoid a tree trunk that lay in front of her. The Auror intent on snatching her broom from under her, wasn't so lucky, and Ginny felt squeamish as she heard him hit the tree with a sickening, bone-crunching _thud_ that seemed to shake the entire forest. One of the Aurors stopped to check on his fallen comrade, leaving the rest to pursue her through the trees. A curse split a tree trunk right in front of her, and Ginny wheeled far off course to avoid a volley of _Stunning Spells_ that had been cast from one of the Aurors further back. Ginny heard another two _thuds_ as the Aurors tried to follow her through the trees, and despite the fact that they were hunting her down, she felt a pang of guilt that so many witches and wizards would be hurt just doing their jobs.

But, as she'd reasoned with herself before, she wouldn't find Harry in Azkaban, and so she would need to keep going, keep flying, keep fighting. No matter the cost, Ginny needed to outrun the Aurors. As the trees mercifully began to thin again, Ginny pulled up into the sky and pressed her broom forward, pushing it to its absolute limits. She shot over a steep hill rocketed high into the clouds. The team of Aurors chasing her had thinned, but they were still persistent in their chase. Ginny bobbed in and out of the clouds trying to scour the land below for any possible means of escape. All that lay beneath her at the moment was a large loch, dotted with small islands. As the Aurors drew closer once more, Ginny began to realise that she really was running out of options. No spell she knew could fend off an entire troop of elite Dark Wizard Catchers, no Darkness Powder would save her in the skies, and no Cleansweep could outrun a Nimbus. Ginny's eyes became teary as she flew, realising that finally, she may be caught. The Aurors no longer cast curses at her; they knew it was only a matter of time before their superior speed caught up with her, and with no thick forest below, where was she to hide? Ginny racked her brains, thinking of anything that she could do to block the path of the Aurors who, by now, were only a few metres behind. Finally, an idea formed in Ginny's mind, one that she was incredibly sceptical of carrying out, but seemingly left with no options, Ginny pointed her wand towards her bag and cried out, " _Accio Wildfire Whizz-Bangs!_ _"_ Ginny's bag flew open, and a cascade of fireworks poured itself into the sky. Ginny fired curses at a few of the rockets, eventually hitting one, which exploded, causing a chain reaction which lit the sky. As Ginny dived out of the way of the enormous explosions of colour, she almost giggled with delight as the Aurors tried to fight through the barrage of rockets and Catherine wheels. An added bonus of George's biggest fireworks was that any attempt to vanish them, or otherwise stop them from exploding would only cause them to multiply, and grow bigger, and louder. Ginny fired jinxes and hexes at a rapid rate towards the fireworks, and soon the whole sky seemed to be on fire.

But then, just as Ginny thought the fight had been won, and had turned to make her escape, one of the Aurors finally locked onto her, and Ginny cried out in horror as she was hit with _Expelliarmus_ and her wand went spinning from her hand and fell away to water below. Ginny dived, pushing her broom as fast as it could possibly go, trying in vain to save her wand. But it was no use, Ginny could no longer even see her wand, and her broom wouldn't dive fast enough to catch it. As she began to pull out of her dive, Ginny shed a tear as she thought back to the day she had visited Ollivanders to purchase the wand, and the joy she had felt when it had chosen her, and then all of the learning, and all of the battles, and all of the adventures she had taken it on since that day. To her, and to most witches and wizards, a wand was not just an instrument, but an extension of herself, a partner. Now that partner was gone, and Ginny had lost another piece of herself.

The loud _boom_ of a firework snapped Ginny out of her trance as she turned to see the entire sky filled with a bright yellow glow. Flying was becoming seriously dangerous now, and Ginny tried to put as much distance between herself and the fireworks that she had tossed into the sky. Through her frequent backwards glances, Ginny could see that at least two Aurors' robes had caught fire, and a third was being hounded by a pink Catherine wheel. A fourth, the one who had knocked Ginny's wand from her hand, was still intent on his pursuit though. He tried, and tried to break through the impenetrable wall of fireworks, but his efforts were in vain. Once again, Ginny thought she had succeeded in her escape, but once again she was in for a nasty surprise. As another rocket sped towards the fourth Auror, he hit it with a non-verbal spell that Ginny had never seen before. As she watched, the rocket changed direction, and thrust towards her at alarming speed. Ginny turned, and pressed her broom for more power, but wherever she went, the firework followed, getting ever-closer. This time, Ginny had no wand at hand to turn it around, and with a horrifying _thump_ the firework buried itself in the tail of her broomstick, and then exploded. For what seemed like several minutes, Ginny was completely unaware of what was happening around her. She had been totally blinded, and her ears were ringing like church bells. She could smell burning, and her back was in a great deal of pain. When she finally came around again, dizzy and disorientated, Ginny realized that she was falling, fast. Ginny pulled up hard, but the power in her broom was no longer there, and manoeuvring was almost impossible. Glancing back, Ginny could see that the tail of her broom was on fire and a great plume of black smoke trailed behind her. There would be no saving her broom. Struggling to stay upright, Ginny aimed for a small island in the distance, hoping that against all odds, she could crash land at least close to the shore. High above, the Aurors retreated in pain and frustration at being thwarted once again.

 ** _Many Hours Later_** ** _…_**

Gawain Robards rose from his office chair in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and walked the few paces to a mahogany drinks cabinet, and began to pour himself a drink from a bottle of pricey single malt whiskey. The _Foe-Glass_ on his desk swam with the dark shadows of his enemies, but none were close enough to trouble him now. Next to the _Foe-Glass_ sat a Muggle television set, constantly tuned to the _BBC News_ channel in case things such as freak weather events occurred; unexplainable to Muggles, but usually a good indicator of a magical mishap. Today's news report was of particular interest to Mr. Robards, and he listened intently to the broadcaster on screen.

 _"_ _Police are today investigating a forest fire in Scotland inside the Loch Lomond National Park which destroyed half an acre of forest, and took fire crews nearly three hours to contain. So far it is believed to be the result of an unauthorised fireworks display above Loch Lomond, which went disastrously wrong. Eye-witnesses recall seeing a sky ablaze with colour, in a display of fireworks that went on for nearly two hours. Police and Fire crews could not locate the launch site for the display, and the National Park remains closed at this time_ _…"_

As Robards sipped at his whiskey, a single knock on his door interrupted the broadcast. "Enter," he commanded. The door to his office swung open, and Carrick, an older, grizzly Auror stepped through, closing the door behind him. His robes were badly burned, and his face and hands were covered in black marks. His expression was a furious one, but his shoulders slumped, knowing that he, as the most senior Auror on the team would have to report to Robards and bear the bad news. "I just watched a fascinating report on the Muggle news about a firework display above Loch Lomond that got dreadfully out of control, set the place ablaze. Did you hear anything about it on your travels, Carrick?"

"She won't evade us for long now," Carrick hissed back, "her broomstick is nothing but a charred log. We have Aurors stationed all around the Loch. With your permission, I am going to tighten the net around her until she is forced to give herself up, or defeated entirely."

"I want you to hold that thought Carrick." Robards replied sternly, "As much as I appreciate this tactical victory, I want to be certain that we will have her this time. You will wait on the shores of Loch Lomond until I have assembled the Dementors of Azkaban to join us. It is imperative that we do not lose her this time."

"There is one more thing sir," said Carrick, reaching into his robes and producing a sleek black wand. Presenting it carefully so as to show that he was offering no threat, "One of the young lads went into the water to search for her. He managed to recover this." Robards took the wand and rolled it lightly between his finger and thumb. He cracked into his first genuine grin in several long months.

"She has no wand," he laughed, "we cannot possibly lose."

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi Everyone,**

 **A little bit of bad news. I had been working very, very hard on this story, but unfortunately, Microsoft Word quit on me, and six of the chapters I had written were lost entirely. I'm at a complete loss as to how my saved work has disappeared, and I've been doing my very best to recover as much work as I can. This chapter might be a little rough, as it was written mostly from memory. I am re-writign most of the chapters, as it seems like a necessary step now, but obviously this is time consuming and a little soul-crushing too. I will post them as soon as I can. Thank you guys for your patience, and I hope you can** **understand. I hate to let you guys down, but sometimes things like this happen.**

 **Regardless of that, I hope you did enjoy this chapter, I hope you're glad to see Ginny back, despite the trouble she's in! If you did enjoy the chapter, and you would like to be kind and leave me a review, I have, as always, a couple of questions for you!**

 **1\. What will Ginny do now? Can she still somehow escape Robards and his men?**

 **2\. What other spells/gadgets/WWW products would you use to make an escape?**

 **3\. Are you excited/scared/nervous for the return of the Dementors?**

 **4\. The next chapter was going to include Quidditch Tryouts, but as it's been a while since I updated, and Gabrielle is obviously skilled enough to make the team, shall I skip them in favour of some more meaningful content? (I had a small subplot planned, but I may scrap it unless everyone _really_ wants it to feature.) **

**Thanks again for reading guys! I love the support for the story so far, and I hope to see more people leaving their thoughts!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**

 **PS, what do you guys think of the new cover for the story? (You might have to zoom in on it a bit!)**


	11. Chapter 10 The Wood Between the Worlds

**Small note for fans of After the Battle of Hogwarts: it is being re-written! See Hogwarts Tales: The Great Prophecy!**

* * *

 **The Wood Between the Worlds**

Harry Potter lay on the small bunk inside his room in the Chamber of Secrets, gazing up at the ceiling, trying once more to formulate a plot to escape. He had climbed out of Salazar's eye every day since being trapped in the Chamber of Secrets, and followed every tunnel, tried every exit, and attempted to break several doors in order to leave the chamber and return to the school above, but thus far he hadn't been successful. Pulling himself out of bed, Harry scratched another line onto his tally that he had been keeping on the limestone walls. Today would mark the end of his sixth week in the Chamber, and the solitude was beginning to aggravate him. How long was he supposed to wait here whilst those creatures in masks were out hunting Ginny? How long until he would finally be free of this hell? Harry longed to be found, or to escape, or even for the strange Headmaster to return, just so that he had someone to talk to.

As it did every morning, a breakfast appeared on a small table in the centre of the room, and despondently, Harry helped himself to a plate of toast and raspberry jam, before washing it down with a steaming mug of tea. Just as he had begun thinking of climbing out of Salazar's eye and down to the Chamber below, he heard a sharp pop behind him that caused him to knock over the last of his tea. He turned to see the man who had rescued him weeks previously, and for a moment Harry had forgotten how to speak as he gazed into those cold and piercing eyes. The Professor was dressed in fine emerald robes, with a matching pointed hat. At his side, he carried an object with which Harry was very familiar; the Pensieve.

"It's about damn time!" Harry hissed as words finally formed in his mouth.

"Yes, I have been rather pre-occupied," the Headmaster replied with the tone of someone who had simply misplaced a library book, "But now it is time for your lessons to begin."

"Lessons?" Harry bellowed, "The only lessons I need are lessons in escaping this place and getting back to Ginny!"

"Ha, young fool!" the man laughed, "Do you truly think that you would be able to get back to her even if I let you out? The whole purpose of taking you out of your current time was to trap you in one place. Now, sit down, and let us move onto matters of greater importance." Reluctantly, Harry sat on the bed as the professor placed the pensieve onto the small table and poured a bottle of silvery liquid into the pensieve. Harry could make out a red sky in the scene below the surface of the water. "I believe you know how this works?" The professor asked. Harry sank his face into the surface of the pensieve, and his stomach lurched as he fell through the sky.

He found himself standing on a muddy path, and in the distance, he could see the ruins of what must have been a once grand castle perched upon a clifftop. Harry continued up the path to toward the ruins of the castle. Weeds and rubble made his path harder, but eventually Harry stood beneath a great arch which must have once been the entrance to the castle. Vines and creeping plants had begun to overtake the stones, and a grand fountain stood empty of water, its décor cracked and scarred. Harry saw large holes in some of the brick that held up what was left of the walls and at once he knew that this castle had been destroyed in a battle of the largest scale. Out behind the castle, the sky glowed an unnatural red, and the clouds looked like great clumps of ash. A forest beneath the hills was barren and dead, the trees reduced to clusters of charred, grey wood, and a lake bed lay dry and dusty. Harry ventured further into the ruins, feeling as though somehow, he knew his way around this castle, though he was sure he had never seen it before. He made his way into a courtyard that was overgrown with weeds, and littered with rubble and pieces of broken glass. On the ground lay pieces of armour, pierced with holes so large that Harry dreaded to think what kind of weapons had caused them. As he continued, Harry found a small wand on the ground, but he could not pick it up. This place had been destroyed by magic.

As Harry reached the end of the courtyard, he came face to face with a statue. The majority of the statue had been blasted to smithereens, and only the base was fully intact. Harry guessed that the statue was of a small boy, although it was hard to tell as half of the statues body had been blasted off. Beside him there was a trunk, and on top of the trunk an owl was perched, its wings spread, ready to take flight. Harry lowered his gaze to the base of the statue. There was an engraving in the base of the statue, but it was worn and cracked too, so Harry bent down closer, and tried to read.

 **'Hog is my home' - HA J MES POT ER 1 0 – 1999**

It only took Harry a moment to work out the missing letters. The statue was of himself, and if the writing on the base was anything to go by, then, although it seemed impossible, unthinkable even, Harry was standing in the ruins of Hogwarts Castle. He looked around him and imagined the castle he knew. The great walls, the towers that pierced the blue sky, the green grass that rolled down to the Black Lake. The Forbidden Forest with its lush evergreens, and Hagrid's Hut with its little chimney releasing puffs of smoke. _How could this have happened?_ He wondered aloud, shedding a small tear.

"Terrible, isn't it?" A voice said behind him. Harry turned to see the Headmaster standing a few feet away, gazing out over the grounds. He too, looked sad, showing the first emotions since Harry had met him. "This is Hogwarts in the year two-thousand and twenty-five."

"But that's impossible!" Harry said, "That's over twenty years from now!"

"Have I not already proven my ability to travel through time?" The professor countered, "What you are seeing is my memory from the future. This is the future of Hogwarts if we fail to upset the Great Prophecy."

"Why are you showing me this?" Harry asked angrily.

"I would've thought that obvious. What place, more than anywhere else in the whole world, matters the most to you? Where was it that you learned who you are, Harry Potter? What place have you always sworn to protect and cherish?" Harry nodded his understanding, and waited to hear the rest of the Professor's tale. "Right now, great evil looms over the entire world, but the majority don't even sense that it's there. This so-called Wizards United Liberation Front is just the beginning. _This,"_ he gestured around him, "is what our future currently looks like if we stand by and do nothing. So, before we go any further, will you swear to do all you can to overturn the Great Prophecy? Will you do all you can to protect the world from further harm? Will you do what you must, Harry Potter?"

"You say you plan to upset the Great Prophecy. How do you plan to do it?" As he finished his question, Harry felt the world around him go dark, and his feet rushed upwards from the ground. A moment later he was back on the bunk in the Chamber of Secrets, the Professor looming over him.

"I'm so glad you asked," The professor responded. "The prophecy refers to an ancient sorceress who would bring chaos and destruction across the world. Each time she has been defeated by the Knights, she was locked away in an artefact known as the Grimhold. This Grimhold can contain her power for a great many years, but eventually she will break free and regain her strength. My plan is to trap her so deeply in the Grimhold that she may never, ever return."

"You plan to kill her."

"It's a little more complicated than that," the professor replied in monotone. Then, the headmaster began telling every detail of his plan as Harry listened on in wonder, and thought of the seemingly impossible tasks that lay ahead. Once Harry had heard the details of the Professors plan, he asked him how he had come to learn the ability to apparate through time. "You have heard, I presume from your History of Magic classes about the Wood Between the Worlds?" Harry racked his brains, wishing for once that he had actually paid attention in Professor Binns' class. _The Wood Between the Worlds connects our world with all others,_ the Professor explained, _we are not alone in the universe. There are whole other worlds, where lions can talk, gods of thunder can summon lighting by swinging their hammers, and men in capes fly across the sky. It is here where one can achieve the ability to travel through time._

"Is it possible to learn how to apparate to the Wood?" Harry asked.

"Of course, how do you think you came to be in this chamber?"

"Will you teach me?"

"Perhaps one day I will teach you how," the Professor replied, "but first, you must learn to control your magic without the use of a wand. It is _essential_ to my plan. _If,_ you master this, then, and only then, I will teach you to apparate into the wood. Agree?" Harry sighed deeply, and nodded a reluctant agreement. If, somehow, he could master wandless magic, then he would be able to return to the very moment that he was attacked, and this time he would put everything right.

"So, can we get started?"

"Oh yes," the Headmaster replied, "but not here. You see, I am much too busy to train you myself. No, I can think of only one man with both the skills and the free time to train you. Together, we must journey to nineteen sixty-five." Harry was going to protest, but something stopped him. He wasn't sure if it was desperation for company, or curiosity about the Professor, but he stopped nonetheless, and took the professors arm. Once again, he found himself flying through a rainbow tunnel, viewing images and scenes of different places as he went. A few minutes later, Harry's feet fell softly onto lush green grass. He felt incredibly warm and sleepy all of a sudden, and his face felt into a sort of slack grin. Around him, trees towered as high as skyscrapers, completely blocking out the sky with their perfectly green leaves. On the forest floor, there were what appeared to be a hundred shallow pools filled with a clear water, but as Harry looked closer, he could see that the pools weren't shallow at all, but rather deep, and each one showed images of a different place. Some pools looked down at vast cities with towering buildings, and thousands of cars, whilst others showed rolling sand dunes, or small islands surrounded by turquoise waters. Somehow, looking into the pools was very similar to staring into the bottom of the pensieve.

"Come, we haven't much time," the Professor said. Harry followed behind the professor, who, by contrast to Harry, wore a strained expression on his face. His skin had turned incredibly pale too, and Harry wondered for a moment whether or not he was getting sick. The professor led Harry quickly through the woods, past what seemed like a hundred more pools, each big enough for only a few people to stand in, and all the way to a clearing in the forest. At the far edge of the clearing stood an enormous tower made from grey stone. The tower seemed to have clocks hung all around the outside, giving it a rather strange appearance. At the foot of the tower were three pools, much larger than the rest. Each pool seemed to be fed by a river that came from the tower itself, one gold, one red, and one a glittering green.

"What are those?" Harry asked pointing to the three pools.

"You have, I presume, realised that we are in the _Wood Between the Worlds_?" Harry nodded. "Each pool will take you to a different world if you jump into its waters. The three pools in front of us transport you to the three original worlds that appeared the moment the multi-verse was created; _Elysium_ , _Valhalla_ , and _Eden_. The tower that stands above them is known as the _Tower Between the Times,_ and it is here we must go in order to return to nineteen sixty-five." The Professor's tone told Harry that he shouldn't ask any more questions, and so they walked past the pools in silence to the foot of the tower. Harry risked a glance into the green pool, and saw things that were so wonderful they couldn't even be put into words, but he also had a niggling feeling that if you jumped into any of the three pools beneath the tower, you would never be able to return. Inside the tower, which seemed to be filled with such a variety of ticking clocks that it was uncomfortable and noisy, they met a small man who Harry would guess to be at least ten thousand years old. The wrinkles in his face were so deep that they seemed like Grand Canyon's stretching across his cheeks, but his eyes seemed to hold oceans, or even entire galaxies. Harry presumed that he was some kind of gatekeeper, and he had probably seen things Harry had never dreamed of.

"Sir," the professor addressed the gatekeeper, "our world faces great peril. By your grace, this man must travel to the year of our world, nineteen sixty-five, in order to learn that which might save us. Please, grant us the ability to send him back." The gatekeeper never spoke, but made a sort of disgruntled sigh, and then stood up on his tiny legs and toddled over to an old grandfather clock. He opened the back of the clock, and turned some dials to wind the clock back. Then, he slumped back into his chair and fell asleep.

"Come," the professor said, and Harry followed him outside. Where there was once a grassy clearing, there now sat two extra pools of water. One showed Hogwarts under a bright blue sky, and the other showed a dark tower in the middle of a thunderstorm. "That pool," the professor said, pointing at the pool with the dark tower and confirming Harry's worst suspicions, "will take you where you need to go. He waits for you in the highest room, at the top of the tower." Without another word, the professor stepped into the pool that showed a picture of Hogwarts, and vanished. Harry stood for a long moment, gazing at Hogwarts under a bright blue sky, and imagined jumping into the pool and running from the strange professor into the Forest and escaping, but again, something held him back. Gritting his teeth, Harry stepped into the other pool. The water felt ice cold, but he had barely waded in up to his shins before he was suddenly sucked under the water. Once again, Harry was flying through a rainbow coloured tube. It seemed as though time was slowing down, and then suddenly, Harry found himself sprawled out onto hard gravel. Rain soaked his back and blurred his glasses. He gazed up to the sky to see a tower made of jet-black rock jutting out from a terrifyingly high cliff face. At the entrance to the door, an inscription was carved right into the tower; _Für das höhere Wohl._ Harry didn't need to be fluent in German to make the translation. _For the Greater Good._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **I'm back with another chapter, and I should have another one for you in a few days.**

 **I was a little disappointed by the response to my last chapter, and it put me off writing for a while. I realise that not everyone has time to read or write a review etc... and I also totally understand that people may not enjoy every chapter, but I felt like a crucial chapter of the story was just kinda ignored. I will keep writing regardless, but if you have the time, writing a little note at the end of the chapter like 'Good chapter!' or 'Maybe you could have done this differently...' would be very much appreciated.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know that it has a lot of info to cram into a very short space, but hopefully I didn't lose anybody! As ever, I have a couple questions for you!**

 **1) Where is Harry now, and who will be his teacher? (Special shoutout in next chapter to everyone who gets this right!)**

 **2) Who do you think Professor Breckenridge is speaking of when he mentions Talking Lions, Gods of Thunder, and Men in Capes? Do you think he's met them?**

 **3) Any theories as to who Professor Breckenridge _really_ is? **

**Thanks again for reading, I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus**


	12. Chapter 11 The Queens Gambit

**The Queens Gambit**

* * *

It had been a full week since Regina had posted the Quidditch Team's new line-up in the Slytherin Common Room, and still, Virani couldn't look her in the eyes. She could understand him being upset over losing his spot to Gabrielle, but she was a better player than him by some great distance, he surely knew it was coming. The rest of the team, whilst sympathetic, hadn't exactly been lobbying to have him reinstated either, and now he sat with the Hufflepuff's during meals, occasionally looking up from his plate to glare at her before turning away to avoid her gaze. _Oh, the woes of a leader,_ Regina thought to herself as she tucked into her lunch, by now unperturbed by Virani's petty attitude. She had far more pressing matters at hand. The Tournament of Champions was set to begin in New Zealand _next week_ and the Hogwarts team, including Regina, who had been asked to attend as Gabrielle's alternate, was getting ready to travel the next morning. The poor French girl was riding an emotional rollercoaster of fear, anxiety, and excitement as the days to departure had ticked down. Mostly, Gabrielle worried that she wouldn't stack up against the other Champions, and for once, Regina shared in her doubts, even though she would never tell Gabrielle. The young girls scores on the obstacle course really showed her weak points quite glaringly. She had easily scored a five out of five for flight, and four out of five for athleticism wasn't bad either, but a score of two for magical ability had really brought Gabrielle down. It wasn't something she could avoid other people talking about either, as Rita Skeeter had written a scathing cover article in the _Daily Prophet_ lambasting the Hogwarts team as a group of misfits whose talents were incompatible with one another, and who had no chance against the best magical schools from around the world.

Still, with Regina's help each night, Gabrielle had been making good progress in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and was beginning to catch up with her classmates. Despite the fact that it _was_ eating into her own study time, Regina quite enjoyed teaching Gabrielle, and it gave her confidence for her upcoming classes with Neville Longbottom. The once shy, doughy wizard had really grown into a man of character. Right now, he was on a two-month trip to Peru to assist the Ministry of Magic in some advanced Herbology study that Regina was sure would absolutely bore her to tears, but once the trip was over he would be returning to Hogwarts to run the _Defence Association;_ an after-school club that would teach students more practical Defence Against the Dark Arts. Regina was to act as something of a student-teacher, in exchange for extra credit, and a referral to the Auror Department. She had no idea yet what she would be teaching in these classes, but decided that teaching Gabrielle would be something like practice. However, the tournament would begin in a few days, and Regina wasn't sure what Gabrielle would be facing, so wasn't sure how best to try and prepare her.

Finally finishing dinner, Regina retired to the dormitory and finished packing her trunk for the long journey to New Zealand. Regina had scoured the library for information on the schools competing in the tournament, trying to get some idea of what challenges each school might put forth. Whilst details on Alma Aleron, Castelobruxo, and Mahoutokoro were readily available, the rest of the schools who would be competing remained a total mystery to Regina, and so just to be on the safe side, Regina and Gabrielle had packed their trunks with everything that one might possibly need for a magical tournament. Aside from the obvious robes, gloves, and travelling cloak, Regina had insisted that they pack a cauldron, their most common spell books, a pair of hiking boots, a set of dress robes – for any formal events – and of course, their broomsticks. Whilst Regina didn't have a fancy hard case for her Thunderbolt, her broom was always maintained in exceptional condition, and lay well-protected in amongst her clothes. By the time Regina had finished packing her trunk, it was heavy enough that it took herself and Gabrielle a trip each carrying one trunk between them down to the entrance hall. Apparently, their trunks would be sent ahead of time, and would meet them on the way to New Zealand. By the time both trunks had been placed in the Entrance Hall, there was already a small pile of trunks and travel bags belonging to the small crowd of spectators who had been permitted to accompany the team.

After the Common Room had finally emptied, Regina and Gabrielle sat alone in front of the fire, the weight of the tournament hanging in the air between them. It was a very long time before Gabrielle broke the silence between them. "I don't want to go." She whispered, her voice barely audible, her fear so great that it filled the room.

"I know," Regina replied, unable to say anything helpful. "I don't want you to have to compete."

"I'm not ready for this," Gabrielle said, choking back tears, "You've been really helpful, but I'm not ready."

"At some point, you'll have to be. I am your alternate, and if you think it's too dangerous, I will compete in your place, but I'm not sure I can do it for every single event. I have N.E.W.T.S to study for, I have to teach classes for the DA, and I'm Head Girl, and Captain of the Quidditch team."

"Have you ever thought that maybe you do _too_ much?" Gabrielle laughed, and for a fleeting moment, the seriousness of the Tournament of Champions melted away, and the two friends joked about Regina's over-full schedule, and talked about Quidditch, and what New Zealand would be like, and wondered aloud how they were going to get there. Eventually though, the pair trundled up the staircase to their dormitory and lay down for a restless night full of fitful sleep and silent wonderings. When the pair woke early the next morning, they made their way sleepily to the Great Hall in search of an early breakfast. Instead, they were greeted by a small crowd of spectators, and the Headmaster, who stood between Natalie and Joshua in the shadow of the grand doors to the Hall.

"Ah, good of you to join us," the Headmaster attempted a joke. The students stood in silence, too afraid to laugh. "Well, today is the day we have all been waiting for, but before we go, I would like to share a few words with you all. I want you to enjoy yourselves in New Zealand, and I want you to embrace the spirit of competition. However," he continued warningly, "whilst we are there, do remember that you are representing the school, and as such, are expected to show your best side to our foreign friends. Anyone caught behaving irresponsibly will not be invited to return for the next leg of the tournament. Now, let us head to the carriages! We have a long journey ahead of us, so let's get started!"

With pangs of hunger still in their stomachs, the students trudged outside to the waiting horseless carriages, and in groups of three or four, clambered inside, ready for the journey ahead. At once, Regina recognised that the carriages were taking their usual route to Hogsmeade Station, and sure enough, a few minutes later they pulled up to see the familiar scarlet engine that pulled the Hogwarts Express. The headmaster leapt from his carriage and motioned the students to follow him to the platform. The train only consisted of two carriages instead of the usual five, probably owing to the smaller number of students it would have to carry for this trip.

"Spectators to the forward carriage, Champions, Alternates, to the rear." Called the Headmaster. Regina and Gabrielle peeled off towards the rear carriage, and linked up with Natalie, Joshua, and the witches that they had chosen as their alternates.

"Nervous?" Joshua asked the group. Regina was stunned to hear him speak for what seemed like the first time ever, and so it seemed was everyone else, as his rare chatty moment was wasted when everyone gave a short nod as an answer. As they clambered aboard the train, Regina noticed a lot of changes to their carriage. Gone were the rows of compartments and luggage racks, and in their place, was a vast open carriage with recliner chairs, wooden tables, and a fully stocked breakfast bar with bottles of Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, coffee, boxes of cereal, and every sweet and pastry you could imagine. _Breakfast!_ Regina thought, still feeling pangs of hunger in the pit of her stomach. She dropped her rucksack onto one of the recliners and began emptying the breakfast bar, returning to the table as the train began to move off, her arms bearing the weight of a large platter of food.

"Well, tuck in!" she said to Gabrielle, who had laid down in the opposite recliner. The students began to chatter amongst themselves about the trip to New Zealand – ' _I hope the weathers not too hot!', 'What task do you think the Kiwi's will have in store for us?', 'Surely we aren't taking the train all the way there? Of course we aren't taking the train all the way there, New Zealand is in the Pacific Ocean!'_ – at the mention of the Pacific Ocean, Gabrielle tensed up, and whispered quietly to Regina.

"You don't think we'll be taking a ship to New Zealand, do you?" She sounded nervous.

"Might be, why? Do you get seasick?" Gabrielle never answered, but instead gazed out of the train window, her eyes dark, her expression almost fearful. Regina thought back to the first time she had seen Gabrielle, she had almost forgotten, because she was so young. Regina was much younger herself, come to think of it. It was almost five years ago, during the TriWizard Tournament, Regina had sat watching Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum pull their girlfriends from the Black Lake, while Fleur had pulled out of the Second Task early. Everyone had started worrying about where Harry was, when a few moments later, Ron Weasley popped up with a small, blonde girl who couldn't swim very well. He swam her to the platform, where her sister Fleur had rushed over and wrapped her in a bundle of towels. Harry shot out the water a moment later, and the tiny girl was promptly forgotten about. Professor Dumbledore had assured everyone after the task that the people under the water were never in any danger, and wouldn't remember anything about the bottom of the Black Lake. Regina wondered silently if, somehow, Gabrielle _could_ remember the Lake, but she never asked.

For hours, the train trundled on until the sun was beginning to descend on the horizon. Looking out of the window, Regina could see an unfamiliar city approaching fast, and got a feeling that this was to be today's destination. Sure enough, about half an hour later, the Hogwarts Express pulled onto an empty looking platform with large stone pillars holding up a great glass roof. Professor Breckenridge could be seen stepping out onto the platform, and so the students followed suit, gathering their things and exiting the carriages onto the platform. It certainly wasn't Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. This platform was a lot grimier and battered looking. There appeared to be a small office block at the foot of the platform, with different signs above each door like _Magical Creature Registration, Dangerous Artefact Storage,_ and _MEU Customs._ On the opposite platform, a group of wizards were loading a large crate onto a small train piled high with boxes and pallets bearing the names of famous brands like _Butterbeer_ and _Potage's Cauldron Shop._ Regina guessed that this must be a cargo platform used by companies to transport large crates of magical goods, but she was still unsure where they were. Regina saw a sign overhead that read _Platform Seven and A Half._

The Headmaster led them to a tunnel behind the office block were Regina assumed they would exit. A wizard in a luminous orange robe stood in front of a blank wooden wall at the end of the tunnel, and held out a hand to stop them. "Just a minute," he said gruffly, "A'lotta Muggles passing by." After a minute or two, he waved them forward and the students followed the Headmasters lead as he walked through the wall and out the other side, just like at Kings Cross. This station however was not Kings Cross, but still very grand nonetheless.

"Welcome to Liverpool Lime Street Station," the Headmaster said quietly as the students came through the wall and landed outside a building on platform seven that read _Virgin Trains First Class Lounge._ The students gawped at the great glass ceiling above as they walked through the station and out into the chilly evening air. "We're going on a short walk." The Headmaster announced, "A good opportunity to stretch our legs. We must be careful though, we need to walk quickly and safely." And without telling them where they were going, the Headmaster ploughed on ahead, walking confidently through the streets of Liverpool while the students stared about them in wonder. They walked for around twenty minutes until they came to the Liverpool Docks, where the headmaster ushered them onto a small motorboat. A weather-beaten wizard with a bushy beard nodded as they clambered aboard, but never said a word. Once everyone was on board, the wizard with the bushy beard flicked his wand, and the boat untied itself from the dock. He pushed a lever and the boat clicked into gear, propelling them forward at speed.

"We can't be sailing this to New Zealand! We'll all drown!" one of the students cried out, quickly turning red as the Headmaster looked back to see who had spoken.

"No Miss Swanpole, we will not be sailing this craft to New Zealand, we will only be taking it as far as the mouth of the River Mersey." Silence fell over the crowd once more, but Regina couldn't tell if it was down to fear of the Headmaster, or fear of the water, as quite a few people looked very green. The boat was quite cramped, and the waters, whilst not choppy, weren't completely flat either. Regina spotted Gabrielle clutching the edge of the boat, her knuckles completely white. Further and further they went, until they had almost left Liverpool behind them, and Regina could see open water ahead. A couple of people looked as though they genuinely would be sick, and Regina was beginning to feel queasy herself as the water began to get choppier. She had begun to wonder why they were heading out to sea when suddenly, as though a lightbulb had been flicked on, she saw it.

She could have sworn it wasn't there only a moment ago, but now, blotting out the last of the sunset, was the biggest ship Regina had ever seen. A large black hull cast a shadow over their boat as they approached it. Regina could see gold letters on the stern which must be several feet tall that read _The Queen's Gambit, Liverpool._ The lights from cabins on the upper deck twinkled against the pink sky, and steam billowed from four large funnels that seemed to reach up and touch the clouds. The bushy-bearded wizard pulled their comparatively tiny boat expertly alongside _The Queen's Gambit_ where a small platform hung down from the ship. The students clambered gingerly onto the platform, and then up a flight of creaky metal stairs, gripping the handrail for dear life, until finally they came to a door in the ship's hull that lead them inside. Regina stepped through the door and into a grand atrium that was something out of a dream. A grand sweeping staircase made from mahogany led up to a balcony which held a world-class restaurant, a large clock hung on the wall giving the time in Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and China, and on the deck that the students had filled out was a large marble reception desk staffed by witches and wizards in gleaming white uniforms.

Professor Breckenridge was talking to the most senior officer at the desk, appearing to be checking the students in, which gave them plenty of time to gawp at the grandeur of the ship. Regina could see a few other passengers milling around the corridors of the ship; there was an elderly couple returning from a meal in the restaurant, dressed in their finest clothes, whilst a group of young children ran the length of the corridors, and an American couple who gazed out of the window and made obnoxious remarks about the service on board a little _too_ loudly. A few moments later, the senior officer in his white shirt and epaulettes strode over to the group of students and addressed them all.

"Students! Welcome aboard _The Queen's Gambit,_ the most comfortable ocean liner in the world! Your Headmaster has entrusted us to get you safely to New Zealand. If there is anything we can do for you during our journey, please let us know. But for the moment, allow me to show you to your cabins." It seemed like only seconds ago that they had left the Hogwarts Express behind, but now the students were walking the length of a grand corridor on the promenade deck. Soon, the students were walking past rows and rows of doors, each of which had the names of two, or sometimes three students written on gold plaques above the handle. Regina pushed open the door to one of the final cabins on the corridor which read _Gabrielle Delacour & Regina Corsica. _ 'The most comfortable ocean liner in the world' seemed like something of an understatement. The girls had each been given a king-sized bed, wardrobe, a bathroom suite that seemed roughly the size of the Slytherin Girls dorm, and a small lounge with a couple of plush sofas. This, Regina quickly decided, was the _best_ way to travel New Zealand. Once they had finished unpacking, and exploring their cavernous cabin, Regina suggested they take a stroll around the promenade deck.

"How are you feeling?" Regina asked as they stopped at a railing towards the back of the ship. Gabrielle was silent for a long time, watching Liverpool disappear into the distance as the ship sounded its horn and began its journey to New Zealand. Finally, after the lights of the city had dipped below the horizon, Gabrielle spoke.

"I don't like the water." Regina put an arm round her friends' shoulder and pulled her close.

"What if one of the tasks involves you being on, or even in the water?" Regina asked, "There's no way that all eight tasks take place in the sky. You'll have to deal with your fear at some point." Gabrielle shook her head and repeated what she had said before.

"I don't like the water."

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi everyone!**

 **What a fantastic response to the last chapter! Thank you guys so much, lets try and keep this up! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I know it seems a little bit compressed, but I just want to get things moving along now, so our next chapter will take place in New Zealand! Are you guys excited to see the first of our new schools? If you guys have enjoyed the chapter, and feel like leaving a review, here a re a few questions you could answer for:**

 **1) The Queens Gambit was once a Muggle Ocean Liner that was _'sunk'_ in the Atlantic by wizards who needed a way to travel very long distances. Can you think which ship the Ministry would pretend to sink? (information on the Queens Gambit will be available on the Wiki tomorrow). **

**2) What do you think Moutohora Magic Academy will be like? What tasks will they come up with?**

 **3) Are you enjoying the story so far? How I could I make it better?**

 **Thanks for reading, until the next,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**

 **P.S. Congratulations to** **triggbc, LovesUnicorns10, and Guest!**


	13. Chapter 12 The Magic's Edge

**A Message from the Author**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **I owe you a bit of an apology and an explanation for why I have been away so long. Unfortunately, my computer broke a little while ago. It is still away for repair, as the motherboard needs work done. Unfortunately, this means that I lost an enormous amount of my writing, including six chapters of this story, which hadn't been backed up before my computer crashed. I lost not only the chapters of this story, but also the original After the Battle of Hogwarts, some of my idea documents for the series, my Hunger Games stories, and The Great Prophecy.**

 **It has taken a while to recover what work I can, and find the drive to get writing again. This chapter might be a little short, but I hope you enjoy it, and I could really use you guys support.**

 **Thanks,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**

* * *

 **The Magic's Edge**

Gabrielle sat down to breakfast in the Neptune Lounge aboard the Queen's Gambit, sinking into a leather chair opposite her team mate, Natalie Campbell. Over the past couple of days, Gabrielle had tried her best to get to know her two teammates. Joshua was very quiet, and rarely spoke to anyone, in fact, the big boy had hardly been seen outside of his cabin except at meals, and Gabrielle began to wonder what hidden talents had caused the Goblet of Fire to choose him. Natalie, on the other hand, was very happy to talk to Gabrielle once she'd gotten her to open up a little. Natalie was a seventh year who shared some classes with Regina, her favourite class was Charms, just like Gabrielle, but Natalie was scared of flying, unlike Gabrielle. She had achieved Outstanding in most of her O.W.L's, which Gabrielle had come to learn were the equivalent of the exams she would've taken during her sixth year at Beauxbatons. Natalie was a Ravenclaw Prefect, although she was far, far less outspoken than Regina. She also seemed to have gathered a fair amount of information on the tournament, which she was sharing more of over breakfast to an eager crowd.

"Ilvermorny are the most successful team in the tournaments history, so Alma Aleron must have a pretty good team to have beaten them to qualify for this year. Mahoutokoro always seem to do well too." She was telling the seven or eight students around the table. "Hogwarts have never won, but Durmstrang have managed it once." This elicited a round of groans from the table.

"But what kind of events are we facing?" A Ravenclaw student piped up.

"Well there are different challenges for each tournament, there's an American fanzine that follows every tournament, that's where I found everything out. One year, there was a Safari Maze that ended with two students getting eaten by a manticore. The tasks have gotten a little safer since then. The Polar Region normally hosts a broom race, only Greenland and Iceland seem to do anything different."

"Have there been a lot of deaths?" Gabrielle asked the question that had been playing on her mind since the day her name had risen out of the Goblet of Fire.

"None in the last twelve tournaments," Natalie answered, giving Gabrielle's shoulder a squeeze. Gabrielle was supposed to inspire confidence in her team, but over the last few days, all she had done was run and hide in her cabin whenever there was the slightest wave, and jog around the promenade deck when it was calm. Natalie had been the one acting like a captain so far.

"Do you have a copy of the magazine?"

"Here, there's a lot more in the ships library too," Natalie said, producing a copy of The Tournament of Champions: America's Greatest Victories. Gabrielle sat and read until she had finished the entire magazine, and then returned the copy to the ships library, a vast room on the lower decks with every kind of book you could possibly imagine, and exchanged it for another, and another after that. Aside from being a little heavy on the American Propaganda – including a cringe inducing special edition that sang The Star Spangled Banner as the front cover was opened – the magazine was a wealth of information on past tournaments. There had indeed been a manticore attack, and it seemed as though Norway would indeed challenge everyone to a broom race. But there had been some wild and incredibly varied tasks, such as escape rooms in New Delhi, or the much more blunt and upfront wizards duel in the Brazilian leg of the 1872 tournament. Once, a task in Estonia was set which banned the use of Magic entirely, forcing competitors to solve an enormous puzzle using logic and brainpower alone.

What intimidated Gabrielle more than reading about the tasks was how good the other teams seemed to be in comparison to Hogwarts. Though the tournament had been running for almost eight-hundred years, only a handful of schools had actually won. The magazine kept a table on the back page, and once Gabrielle found the latest issue of the magazine, she was able to see just how much the Americans had dominated the tournament.

 **Most Wins in the Tournament of Champions**

 **Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – 44 (The schools most dominant period included a 14 tournament win streak. Ilvermorny usually trains hard for the tournament, owing to their fierce battle for qualification against rival School Alma Aleron.)**

 **Alma Aleron University of Magical Humanities and Spellcraft – 15 (Always second best to their Ilvermorny Rivals, Alma Aleron are nonetheless a dominant force in the tournament, winning all but one of the tournaments that they have qualified for.)**

 **Mahoutokoro School of Magic – 7 (Pride of the Asian Continent, Mahoutokoro demand respect from their opponents with their intricate spell-work, and immaculate flying.)**

 **Kenya Kiara Magic Academy – 3 (The most successful African nation, Kenya Kiara is respected and feared, owing to their infamous 'Safari Maze' which claimed the lives of two students.)**

 **Uganda Ugadao – 1 (Home to the famous Akimbo Manawa, the only two-time winner of the Tournament of Champions, Uganda were the surprise winners of the 1709 tournament.)**

 **Durmstrang Institute of Magic – 1 (The only Western European Team to win the tournament.)**

Gabrielle read and read, looking over previous tasks, trying to gain knowledge and confidence about what lay ahead. She had, at least worked out how the tournament would be scored, and thankfully it would not involve a winner-takes-all final task like the Triwizard Tournament. Each task won would earn your School thirty points, twenty for second place, and ten for third place; at the end of the tournament, the school with the most points would be the winner, and would take home the Ignatia Wildsmith trophy. Tasks could be set as one large event where all schools compete at once, or as a knockout tournament where one school faced another, the winner would move to the next round, and so on until only two schools were left. This, Gabrielle thought, could play to Hogwarts' advantage if they were drawn against some of the less competitive schools, and managed to make it through to later rounds. Her train of though however, was abruptly brought to a halt by an announcement from the ships captain.

" Ladies and gentlemen we will shortly be crossing into the Magic's Edge, for your comfort and safety please remain seated during the drop-over phase. We are expected to arrive in New Zealand in two hours." This news startled Gabrielle. Yes, they were on a magical ship, so it was naturally very fast, but even so, the interactive maps around the ship showed them to be somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean, there was no way it could go from there, to New Zealand, in the South Pacific, in two hours. Gabrielle ran to the front of the ship, sprinting past bemused passengers on sun loungers until she stood at the bow, where a crew member was securing a piece of equipment to the forward mast. The water seemed to be flowing incredibly fast beneath the ship, and Gabrielle squinted her eyes to a foamy patch of water a hundred metres or so in the distance. It took her a few moments to work out what she was seeing. Suddenly she turned and screamed at the crew member, who had just finished securing a large spindly instrument with a black tank at the bottom to the foot of the mast.

"We're going towards a waterfall!"

"It's more of a big hole in the water really," the crewman replied casually.

"The captain needs to turn the ship around!"

"Couldn't do it now if he wanted to," the crewman replied once more, and Gabrielle suddenly realised how quickly the ship was now moving. "You didn't read your Welcome Aboard pack, did you? Ah well, you wouldn't be the first. You see, magic, all magic, gets weak and eventually dies out as you get closer to Antarctica, that's why it isn't on most wizard maps. It's too desolate, and dangerous for wizards to travel. Most magical ships don't like to use the Panama Canal either, too many muggles around. So, some genius created the Magic's Edge. Silly name, but it compromises a series of giant underwater tunnels that cut through the earth and create huge shortcuts, which enables us to get from here, to New Zealand in the quickest time possible."

Gabrielle didn't really care about the history of the Magic's Edge, all she cared about was not going over the waterfall. "You're supposed to be seated for the drop-over phase," the Crewman said, "but seeing as you're up here, I'll let you stand and watch, but I have to tie you to the railings." Before Gabrielle could protest, her hands were magically glued to the rails, and her feet stuck to the floor. She could hear the water rushing beneath them now, and looked ahead in horror as the bow of the Queen's Gambit shot over the edge of an enormous hole in the water. Foot after foot of ship shot out into open space, hanging almost comically above a raging torrent of water that pushed them further and further over the edge. Two parachute-like devices ejected themselves from the ships hull and sank back into the water. Gabrielle felt the ship lurch sickeningly beneath her, and just as the stern of the ship was about to leave the edge, the ship stopped for a moment, and then began to fall slowly into the hole. Gabrielle let out a scream, thinking that she was surely falling to her doom. The ship fell though open air for what felt like several minutes, before an almighty crash forced Gabrielle to open her eyes again.

The ship was gliding along at a marvellous speed, riding along a tunnel of rushing water. She was surrounded on all sides by glittering turquoise, and deep cobalt, mixed with a little shining green as well. The wind whipped at Gabrielle's silvery-blonde hair as the ship carved a path through the enormous tunnel. She saw smaller ships zip by, and even came across small holes in the tunnel with signs posted above them for Peru and Chile. "Pretty special, isn't it?" Gabrielle turned to see the crewman, her hands and feet coming unstuck. The device that had been strapped to the mast seemed to be letting out streams of what looked like dish soap, but as it continued to spray outwards, Gabrielle realised that the streams were fanning out around the top decks of the ship, encasing the entire ship in a giant bubble. "Gets a little hard to breathe the deeper you go," he said, gesturing to bubble taking place around the ship.

"So," he said, "the Tournament of Champions kicks off tomorrow. Are you feeling ready and prepared?"

Gabrielle pondered this for a long moment before answering. "As ready as I can be, I guess."


	14. Chapter 13 Escape from Loch Lomond

**Escape from Loch Lomond**

* * *

Ginny dragged herself to the shore of a small island in the middle of the Loch, her body was in agonising pain, she was shivering with cold, and she was now sure that she had been caught. With no wand to defend herself, and no broom to fly away on, the Auror's would catch her soon enough. Ginny flopped down onto the grassy banks of the island and for a moment, consigned herself to her fate. There was no way she could hope to escape now, she thought to herself, no more tricks left in her bag, and without her wand, no spell to save her. But then, as though it had been waiting for this exact moment, the small bag around Ginny's neck began to radiate a warmth that spread out across her chest, down her arms, to her fingertips, and down her torso, all the way past her thighs, her shine, to the tips of her toes. She was no longer cold, and no lonGer felt so hopeless. Ginny reached for the bag to find the source of this mysterious magic. The front pocket was hot to the touch, so Ginny opened it quickly, and gingerly slid her fingers inside until her hands closed around… of course! Ginny's heart thundered as she pulled Harry's wand from her bag and examined it. Steam still spouted from the wood as the wand finished its warming charm. Now Ginny was warm, and dry, and no longer felt as though she was alone and hopeless.

Harry's wand had performed magic without even being asked. Could this mean that Harry was nearby? But why would Harry even be here, in the middle of nowhere? _No_ , Ginny thought, _that's too unlikely_. But why would it help Ginny of its own accord? _I must have to keep going,_ Ginny thought to herself. If Harry's wand had come to her rescue, then surely Ginny was its best chance of being re-united with its owner, which in turn, must mean… _Harry is still out there somewhere!_ With renewed vigour Ginny dragged herself to her feet. She had sworn to herself, had she not, that she would never give up the search? Yes, she had lost her wand, her most faithful companion, but Harry's wand had never let _him_ down, and if it would allow her to take control of its power, there was no reason it should fail against the Aurors.

Pointing out at the water to where the charred remains of her broomstick lay submerged in the shallows, Ginny tried Harry's wand for the first time. _Accio Cleansweep!_ The wand provided no resistance, and the remains of Ginny's faithful, finally beaten broomstick leapt onto the shoreline. Though she knew the likely outcome, Ginny tried to use magic to repair the broom, but after a half-hearted attempt at hovering, the Cleansweep fell with a definitive _thud_ , beaten and dead, the final chase against the Auror's serving as its last _Hurrah_. Flying out would not be an option. Then how was she supposed to get off an island? Ginny briefly considered disapparating, but she was sure that the Ministry would trace any attempt at apparation and be on top of her again in an instant, provided that they hadn't already cast an anti-apparation jinx across the entire Loch already. Swimming would be far too slow, and she had no idea what she would do if she was able to get to the shoreline. Her best chance of escaping, she decided, was to steal the broomstick of one of the Auror's. But this also put her at the greatest risk. She would have to be very, very close to the Auror's to get a grasp of one of their broomsticks.

Ginny tipped out the contents of her bag to see what she had left. Her entire supply of fireworks had been used up, but Ginny was in no rush to repeat the scenario that had landed her here in the first place. She had two Peruvian Instant Darkness Powders left, a stack of Defence Against the Dark Arts Books, her cauldron, her tent, which by sheer luck she hadn't unpacked before the Auror's caught up with her, Harry's cloak, the Marauders Map, and five decoy detonators. Not much to hold back a team of highly trained Auror's, but she would have to make do. She repacked her tent, donned the cloak, and sat on the shoreline to keep watch for the Aurors. She spent hours watching, hours waiting, hours planning, until finally they came. Gawain Robards, and six of his best men rode across the glassy lake on their sleek Nimbus brooms before touching down gently on the shore. The men spread out into a fan shape and prowled forward like lions. Robards spoke.

"Ginny Weasley! Come quietly! We have you completely surrounded. We know you are unarmed. This little escapade is over, come with me now so you can stand trial for your countless crimes."

"What of your crimes Robards?" Ginny called out, shedding the invisibility cloak and leaving it hanging by her waist. "It took me a while to figure out who you really work for. When did the WULF recruit you?"

"You dare accuse me of treason?" The large Welshman called back as his Aurors formed a circle around their pray. "You, who are responsible for the death of Harry Potter, and the countless injuries to the Aurors who seek to bring you to justice. Do you have no shame?"

"None where you are concerned. I wouldn't harm Harry, Kingsley knows it, that's why he wouldn't arrest me for it. I couldn't understand why you were so hellbent on arresting me without any evidence, and then it finally clicked. The WULF aren't _just_ after Harry. They knew I was at home with him, so they would have tried to kill me too, if he hadn't locked me inside. But you see, our home had the best protection that the Ministry could provide. After all, Harry Potter lives there, and he does have quite a few enemies that, regretfully, escaped prison. So how were the WULF able to break down all of those enchantments? They had to have help from inside the Ministry. Now who, in the Ministry, with that kind of knowledge, would be able to help them? Who has been trying, a little too hard, to get me locked up?" Robards said nothing, but just for a fleeting moment, his grin faltered. Ginny had him on the back foot, now all she had to do was distract him a moment longer.

"I suppose there's a bad accident waiting for me in Azkaban? A bungled escape attempt? Maybe I try to jump off the ferry on the way there, and drown trying to swim ashore?"

"Incredible. You are even more deluded than I gave you credit for Miss Weasley. My congratulations, you've figured me out entirely, I confess. Tell me, how do you plan to escape this time?" Robards took a measured steep forward, and Ginny could tell the Aurors were beginning to close in around her.

"Well I'm going to fly out, of course."

"Hah!" Laughed one of the Aurors, "Your broom is finished, I saw to it myself after your little stunt with the fireworks."

"Yeah, a shame about that. You know, Harry bought me that broom for Christmas, and he'll be very upset when he finds out what you did. I guess I could borrow yours."

"Let me see your hands!" Robards bellowed, "We'll have no more of your magic powder!"

"Didn't you like it?" Ginny feigned sadness, "I guess you didn't have time to buy a hand of glory? You seem like a busy man."

"Well, after tonight I may reward myself." Robards grinned. In three or four strides he would standing face to face with Ginny. Now was the time to act. Ginny raised her empty hands, and took one careful step forward, her foot resting on a dark, glistening stone.

"Well I'm sure that will be very nice for you. Oh, Mr Robards, do watch your step." In the split second it took the Head Auror to realise what she was going to do, Ginny stepped down hard and crushed the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder beneath her foot. The world was instantly black. Ginny could hear the Auror's cursing, and knew she had no time to waste. She sprinted blindly at where she thought the nearest Auror had been, and collided with him at full pelt. The pair went sprawling to the ground.

"SHE'S HERE!" He began to wail, but Ginny blindly aimed a fierce kick that seemed to knock the wind from him. She scrabbled around in the darkness for her prize. Finally, her hands locked around a sleek, smooth piece of wood. With no time to get her bearings, Ginny threw the cloak around her, and kicked off hard. The force of the Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred accelerating hit her like a sledgehammer. She had barely managed to hold on as the broom had shot off of the ground and taken her to the edge of the clouds in a matter of seconds. The Aurors surrounding the Loch had taken off in pursuit, but they had been caught off guard, and now Ginny was riding the fastest racing broom in the world at full chat. They wouldn't catch her now. She clung on for dear life as she pushed the Nimbus harder and harder, barely able to see where she was going, but going there as fast as she could nonetheless.

Ginny couldn't tell how long she stayed that way, it could well have been days before she finally opened her eyes and allowed herself to look behind and check if she was still being pursued. Even though there was no sign of any Auror's, Ginny sped on again to make sure, until she was no longer capable of gripping the handle of the broom. Only then did she relent and reluctantly slowed down, drawing Harry's wand from her bag just in case. Deciding to try and gain her bearings, Ginny dipped below the clouds to see a large town beneath her. She must have flown back to England. With no better alternative, Ginny headed for the outskirts of the town, and landed in a field just out of sight. Aside from a few startled cows, she hadn't been seen. Ginny slung the broom over her shoulder, and re-adjusted the Invisibility Cloak so that it covered her properly.

She decided that she would walk into town, try and scavenge a bit of food, and see if there was any way of getting some news from the outside world. She couldn't hope to find any copies of the Daily Prophet in a large Muggle town, but she might see the Muggle News on one of those Telly-Vision devices, and if there were any freak natural disasters, huge storms, or anything of that ilk, she would be able to gauge where the Auror's were. Progress was slow, as Ginny tried to keep the tail of the broom from poking out beneath the cloak. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered whether or not the Ministry could trace their broomsticks, and were beginning to surround her at this very moment. Nevertheless, she strode on until she reached the town, passing a quiet country train station. Here she saw the first poster of herself in the Muggle world. There was a large, edited photo of herself, completely still, but her hair stuck out at angles, and her eyes were glass and dangerous. The caption on the poster said; _Police are appealing for any information on the whereabouts of Ginny Molly Weasley. Miss Weasley escaped from Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital on September 1st. Miss Weasley is thought to be a danger to herself and others, and should not be approached under any circumstances._ There was also a phone number to call and report sightings.

 _Not even safe in the Muggle world_ , Ginny thought to herself. She shuffled on, going further into town, looking for a pub or an inn that she could sneak into to escape the cold for a while. Even though winter was fast approaching, it seemed exceptionally cold this night, _unnaturally_ cold. The further into town she went, the colder it seemed to become, in fact, there was even frost on some of the cobbles, and small puddles had turned to ice. The reality of the situation but Ginny a moment too late, as the first of the black cloaked figures swept down from the rooftops, gliding towards her along the street like a smoky wraith, it's breath dry, and rattling. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered Professor Dumbledore's warning from her second year; _'Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks.'_ Ginny raised Harry's wand, her arm revealing itself from beneath the cloak. Her silver-blue horse leapt forward, charging down the first Dementor. But there were more, several more, maybe even hundreds, sweeping down towards her, unfazed by the invisibility cloak that had saved her countless times.

Ginny's Patronus was losing its battle, _she_ was losing. Dementors surrounded her poor horse, and Ginny watched its warm glow slowly fade until it was finally snuffed out. Ginny turned and ran, the cloak streaming out behind her, no longer hiding her fiery red hair, a sure giveaway to the Ministry. She tried to get her stolen broom to fly, but it was iced over, unable to hover more than a couple of feet from the ground. She pelted on, but Dementors were just as quick. Panic had begun rising in Ginny's chest, as though her lungs were filling with water, which quickly turned to ice. In her haste, she tripped over one of the cobblestones on the ground and sent herself sprawling onto the street. The Dementors could sense victory, and the leader among them floated down to street level. Ginny turned in horror to what was sure to be the final sight her eyes would see. The Dementor lowered its hood, and opened its mouth, its empty eye sockets seeming to peer straight through her. She let out a scream, but no sound came from her lips. Her vision swam, and the world began to go dark. _This is it,_ she thought to herself, _this is the end, and I have failed._ But in the moment that Ginny was sure she would die, something happened, the Dementor fled, as did those around it. A faint blue glow hung in the air over her head, and she was aware of a strong hand gripping her arm, and then the world went black.

* * *

Gawain Robards sat tensely in his study. He had spent the last hour poring over two separate reports that sat side by side on the desk in front of him. The first was his own, written after returning from the shores of Loch Lomond. Somehow, inexplicably, infuriatingly, Ginny Weasley had escaped, unarmed, unassisted, despite standing three feet before him only a few hours ago. Then, a second report from the Dementors of Azkaban had come in. They had located her in Kendal, a small village in the Lake District, but, once again, she had escaped, and this time she had received help. Her family were brought in for questioning immediately, but a very short interrogation had proved fruitless. Her parents seems thrilled with the news, and took great delight in the fact that their daughter was still at large after so many weeks on the run. Should the girl manage to procure a wand, she would become even more dangerous, and prove even more of a threat to his master.

As if on cue, a horrible, cold, high voice rung out in Gawain's mind. _'My disappointment in your failure cannot be overestimated. While Ginny Weasley remains free, she puts our goal at great risk. It would seem as though I must take matters into my own hands, pray that I remain undetected. When I return from New Zealand, you will explain yourself. The leader of the Wizards United Liberation Front will not tolerate incompetence. For your own sake, do not fail me again. For now, Ginny Weasley remains your problem, until I have dealt with the Delacour girl. Find Ginny Weasley, and bring her to me!'_

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **Good news, my computer is fixed! I'm beginning to recover my lost work and piece things back together. I've felt a little down recently over the lack of any comments on this story, as well as the Great Prophecy. I won't sit here and beg for a review, but a little note every now and then would cheer me up massively. Fan-fiction writers use their free time every day to try and write stories that will entertain people, and every once a while, gettting to read a simple comment like 'good job!' really makes it worthwhile. I know lots of people are busy, and writing a review can be a pain, but it does provide extra motivation to your favourite writers, which in turn brings out chapters more steadily.**

 **Are you guys still interested in this story? Don't feel any pressure to comment on the chapters, but if you would like to leave a review, I have some questions to stir your minds up! Lets have some theories!**

 **1\. Who do you think helped Ginny escape the Dementors?**

 **2\. Is Gabrielle in danger? From who?**

 **3\. Are you excited to see the new school in New Zealand? What do you think it should be like?**

 **Thanks for reading today!**

 **Until the next,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


	15. Chapter 14 The House on the Beach

**The House on the Beach**

Ginny Weasley woke up on a large king-sized bed. Her muddy robes, matted hair, and bloody knuckles were a stark contrast against the clean, white satin bedding. Sunlight shone across her face through a small crack in the curtains, illuminating some of the room. Everything in this place was exceptionally clean, with light colours, and a smell of sea air. Like Shell Cottage, but on an incredibly grand budget. Gingerly, Ginny tried to get up. Every bone, every muscle in her body was incredibly stiff and sore, owing to the weeks of abuse running from the Aurors. Rising to her feet, Ginny took in her surroundings. The Nimbus Two-Thousand Five-Hundred she had captured from the Aurors lay at the foot of the bed, and on a small dressing table at the end of the room she spotted Harry's wand. Immediately she snatched the wand from the dresser and held it at the ready. She may not have been captured, but she was still in a strange house, and she didn't know who had brought her here. Silently she padded over to the window and opened the curtains.

Sunlight poured into the room, making it seem even more impossibly bright and airy. From the window, Ginny could see a massive sandy beach, with rolling dunes, and clear blue seas. Down below the window was a large garden, and Ginny could see a man hard at work repairing a fence. Deciding now was the time for answers, Ginny searched for her things, finding her bag and cloak on a chaise lounge, the cloak undamaged, the contents of the bag untouched. Ginny wrapped the cloak around her, once again struggling to keep the tail of her broom hidden. She made her way out of the room and into a large hallway, with a balcony over-looking an open plan kitchen. She stepped as quietly as she could down a sweeping marble staircase into the kitchen. She had never been here before, but Ginny couldn't shake a strange sense of familiarity with the house, as if she ought to know the person who owned it. Ginny found a sliding glass door that led to the garden, it was already open, so Ginny cautiously stepped through it and into the garden, Harry's wand raised. She walked slowly, stealthily towards the man at the bottom of the garden.

It was only when she was two or three metres from his back did Ginny realise who was standing before her. "Put your hands where I can see them!" Ginny called out. Immediately, and without protest, the man raised palms skyward. Everything about him had changed. The once sleek blonde hair that used to be plastered to his head was ragged, and wavy, and reached halfway down his back. He appeared to have gotten slimmer, scrawny even, far from his well-nourished appearance at school. His once perfect, pale skin, was covered in bruises and small scars, his hands rough and calloused. As he turned to face her, Ginny let out a gasp. His eyes showed a broken soul, and he had dropped his clean-shaven appearance for a raggedy blonde beard. The aftermath of the war had taken its toll on Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Ginny was unsure whether she felt loathing, or pity, or both as she sat opposite Draco in the grand living room of the Malfoy's summer house. Draco Malfoy had tormented her, had tormented Harry, and had tormented her entire family throughout her entire time at Hogwarts. He had fought on the side of the Death Eaters, and had stood side-by-side with You-Know-Who. But this wasn't the same man that sat before her, his eyes gazing into a dwindling fire, his hands wrapped around a mug of tea that was slowly going cold. "How did you manage to find me?"

"I followed the Dementors. They don't like to be followed, but I knew that if the Ministry didn't catch up with you then they definitely would. I had to try and keep my distance, but when I saw about a hundred of them swarming around that village I knew that you must've been caught. Your Patronus gave me an opening, and once I managed to get hold of you I apparated us both here."

"Why?" Ginny asked the burning question, "why bother saving me at all? You have a comfortable, easy life. Why screw that up by hiding the country's most wanted criminal?"

"When _he_ was living in my home, and making his plans, and taking over the Ministry, I didn't have a choice. He would have killed my entire family without a second thought. I had to do whatever was expected of me. But this time _I_ have a choice."

"Very touching!" Ginny spat, "poor little rich boy! You always have a choice _Malfoy._ You chose what was easy. Why risk yourself or your family when others will do it for you? My brother is dead! Harry is missing! Why don't you think about that sometime when you're sat in your big fancy house pretending that you're one of the good guys?" Ginny set her cup down and made to leave the room, but Draco grabbed hold of her arm.

"I didn't save you from the Dementors out of guilt, or to get any kind of forgiveness for the things I've done. I did what I had to do and I don't regret it. But what's going on right now is much bigger than You-Know-Who. This WULF lot are not some random group of radicals, they're efficient, organised, and incredibly well funded. They plan to finish the path that _he_ started on, and if they get even a tiny bit close, we're all done for." Ginny retorted with a remark about how no member of the WULF was even close to being as powerful as Voldemort, but this only seemed to enrage Draco. "You-Know-Who was an exceptionally powerful wizard, but even he couldn't execute all of his plans alone. A select few knew of his true intentions, one of those people was my father, and I have good reason to believe that he has had a hand in bankrolling the WULF."

"Bankrolling the WULF?" Ginny sat back down in her chair, and Draco began to tell his tale. He hadn't seen his father in months, and decided one night to pay him a visit at Malfoy Manor. When he arrived, all of the lights in the house were out, and Draco assumed his father was away, but as he crossed into the main hallway, he could hear noise coming from the ballroom below. He cast a disillusionment charm over himself and crept downstairs to see what had been the cause. In the centre of the room, a tall, thin man in a golden mask and black robes was torturing the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for everyone's entertainment. The WULF seemed to be having some sort of dinner party or meeting, and Lucius Malfoy was up on stage, not at the head of the table of course, but off to one side, laughing and posturing as he had when Lord Voldemort had counted him among his inner circle. Draco was disgusted, he'd almost revealed himself right there, ready to have it out with his father. But instead, he stayed quiet, and listened, gathering information as the leader of the WULF spoke in his high, robotic voice.

The WULF had Gawain Robards, and many other Ministry higher-ups under the Imperious Curse, and between them, they had started a slander campaign against Ginny, trying to deflect attention away from themselves. This much, Ginny had come to work out on her own, but Draco seemed to know much more. For starters, the WULF had no idea where Harry was. This caused Ginny's heart to leap in her chest. If the WULF didn't have him, then he was still out there somewhere. At first, the WULF assumed he had simply disapparated, but when he didn't show up, they began to concoct their rumour of his disappearance. Of course, only the members gathered at Malfoy Manor were privy to this information. But Draco had uncovered so much more about their plan.

"They plan to resurrect an evil sorceress, one so ancient and powerful that she had to be sealed away inside a Russian doll. It's said that if she were to return to full power, she could rid the magical world of all muggle-borns with a single spell known as the Rising. The only way to resurrect her is to find the doll, the key to unlock it, the book that contains the spell, and a wand powerful enough for her to cast it. Once these items are united, and the sorceress is freed from her cage, the WULF _will_ be unstoppable."

"Oh, come on Draco, I know that there is such a thing as the _Great Prophecy,_ but how can you seriously believe that half of that is real?" Ginny laughed, but somewhere in the back of her head, a tiny voice reminded her that most people think that the Deathly Hallows are nothing but a children's story, but she knew better, having come into contact with two of the three. Ginny had seen Dumbledore wield the Elder Wand for years without realising it, although now that she knew, it did make sense for the most powerful wizard in the world to hold the most powerful wand. But was it really powerful enough to wipe out hundreds of thousands of people at once? Ginny doubted it.

"Do you believe that the Deathly Hallows are a myth?" Draco countered, as if he could read her mind. "Our only small bit of fortune is that the WULF haven't found any of the items. In fact, there's very little history on them at all. The wizards who originally sealed her away spread them far across the world, so that they wouldn't come into contact with one another. They are buried deep in the strongest magical fortresses that there are, but nobody knows exactly where."

"Hogwarts!" Ginny shouted suddenly, jumping from her chair. "The Elder Wand is at Hogwarts! We need to get it out of there right now!"

"Relax Weasley," Draco said with an air of old self, "the WULF know it's there, but so far it remains untouched. My mother has been watching what goes on inside the castle. There's a charm on Dumbledore's tomb that will let us know if anyone tries to get inside. Nobody has been near it. Either the WULF are happy to leave it until last, or it isn't the wand they are after. But it doesn't matter, _you_ can't just go barging in there and taking it, and I somehow doubt that people would take me very seriously if I suddenly emerged after a year and half of solitude and demanded to break into Dumbledore's tomb to secure the most powerful wand in the world."

"But we can't leave it there!"

"We have to, unless you want the WULF to know that you've discovered their plans. Besides, one other artefact is already secure." Ginny stared at him in puzzlement, but rather than explain, Draco rose from his seat and beckoned her to follow. He began descending a set of stairs hidden behind a large kitchen cabinet. They were narrow and dark, light only by a few small torches. The stairs twisted and turned, and at some point, they stopped being brick, and seemed to be carved out of the bedrock beneath the house. Deeper and deeper the pair went until eventually they reached a door. The door was heavy and black, with no handle to speak of. Draco placed a hand against the wood, and suddenly it dissolved before him. Inside was a small, very dusty room, presumably an old family vault. There were a few piles of golden galleons, which probably meant little to the Malfoys, but was more money than Ginny had ever seen in her life. Here and there were a few trinkets, goblets, tiaras, and in the centre of the room stood a dark wooden table, a fairly recent addition by the looks of it, and on the table, was a _very_ large, very heavy-looking, black leather book. Its pages were so old and yellowed that it seemed as though any minute they would crumble away into dust. On the front cover of the book was a single word; CODEX.

"You-Know-Who found it buried in cave miles underneath Beauxbatons. He entrusted my father to hide it in the Department of Mysteries, which he did. Once I knew he was involved in the WULF and I learned what they planned to do with it, I went into the Ministry and took it. That was the last time anyone saw me in public. I'm not sure if my father knows it is gone, but I don't think he suspects me. He doesn't even know that I know it was found."

"Why did Voldemort have it?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"He used to say to his inner circle that he planned to raise the sorceress himself, and once he had returned her, she would reward him with the world. I don't know if he ever meant it, or if he just wanted to keep them all afraid and impressed. Maybe he just craved the knowledge that is in here. After all, this is possibly the most ancient spell book in the world."

"Who is this sorceress? I've heard so many people talk about her, but nobody mentions her name."

"They say that when she was alive, she could hear the voice of anyone who mentioned her name, and by listening to what they said about her, she could decide whether they were an ally, or a foe. If they were a foe, she could kill them from miles away, and very often did. _That,_ I think, is where You-Know-Who got the idea from. Even inside her prison, people say she can still hear us."

"But who is she?" Ginny demand again. Draco produced his wand and began to draw in the air. A series of orange letters burned into the space between them, and finally, Ginny knew the name people were afraid to say.

 _Morgana Le Fay._

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Dear Readers,**

 **I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've been taking a break from basically everything to look after my mental health. I hope you can understand. Hopefully this chapter is a good one, and thanks if you have stuck with the story.**

 **Your friend,**

 **IronManRidingaNimbus.**


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